AKCC : Allison Kaeda Connor Chronicals
by keithallen
Summary: Jameron fic. John and Cameron are newlyweds. Cameron wants to have a baby to complete their family. Through a temporal displacement, Lucy gave Cameron some DNA and the ability to form eggs in her womb. Say hello to the little bundle of Joy named Allison Kaeda Connor.
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am again with another twisted tale. Back in Capu 5, about CH19, Lucy from Elfen Lied, gave Cameron the ability to have children. Well, now our favorite female terminator is going to have one. Please let me know your thoughts on this idea.**

So on with :

The Allison Kaeda Connor Chronicles

CH 1 Conceiving Difficulties

Sarah Connor was used to nightmares, she had been having them for a long time. Nightmares of bright metal terminators coming to kill John, herself helpless in her grief over her dead son and the machines just walking away. Nightmares of nuclear Armageddon, burning cities, the tromp of metal feet as machines gunned down those who tried to flee as well as those who tried to fight.

Her more current nightmares were of John and Cameron at the wedding alter. John waiting with a smile as his metal bride came up the isle, wearing a pretty, flowing wedding gown. Cameron turning to face John, showing nothing her bare metal skull under a wig of hair, Cameron's skeletal metal hand rising to clasp John's. The other went to the machine's belly, swollen with a child. Cameron turned her head to look at Sarah with it's red glowing eyes.

"He's mine now." the terminator said.

Sarah awoke with a start, sitting up in bed. Outside, the light of pre-dawn was painted in the sky. Sarah held her face in her hands, wanting to scream.

Unfortunately, her latest nightmare was not a fear of things to come, but the memory of John and Cameron's wedding. Cameron wasn't bare-skulled during the ceremony, in fact she looked very pretty and was beaming a smile of love at John the entire time. John's best man was John Henry, the AI with a T-888 body created by Catherine Weaver, who also was a terminator, a liquid metal type. Savannah was Cameron's brides' maid, The cute little six year old red head was the only other human being at the alter with John other than the Army Chaplain that married them.

Her John, who was destined to save mankind from annihilation by Sky Net, was married to one of it's killing machines. John was fulfilling his destiny, though what happened was nothing like any of them had conceived was possible.

John had gotten help. What turned the tide were the things that went 'bump' in the night. Well, more like 'bang' actually. The creatures of folklore and fantasy, Vampires, dragons, gargoyles, and other things Sarah had no idea what they were, and appeared from another world. The danger from Sky Net somehow endangered them also, and they had come to pound it into the ground. Sarah and the world watched an elephant sized gargoyle destroy a factory belonging to Sky Net. The T-888's there were crumpled into balls of metal, and H/K's were swatted out of the sky. Two young teenage vampire girls, Akemi and Azami Aono, had trashed a whole platoon of T-800's that came to destroy John Henry. They didn't have guns or rocket launchers, only themselves. Incredibly strong and fast, the Aono girls literally tore all the T-800's to pieces with their bare hands. Unlike Sarah and John or Skynet, these monsters didn't care who saw what they did. They ripped everything Sky Net was wide open for everyone to see.

The Yokai, as they called themselves, beat everything Sky Net tried to throw at them into scrap metal. Skynet itself had gone into hiding. Sky Net was still active on some computer, somewhere, but it was hiding like a gopher, deep in a hole someplace and it wasn't sticking it's head out. Cameron and John Henry were active on the net, keeping a perpetual watch out for any signs of Sky Net resurfacing.

As if the shock of all these creatures wasn't enough, a horned, pink haired woman named Lucy that Mr. Ellison had discovered held the nickname of Kaeda no Kaze, or 'wind of death' in English, had given Cameron the ability to have children. Tin Miss was going to bear children with the DNA of Lucy, who was one of the more frightening of the Yokai both in temperament and ability. Even the liquid metal T-1001, Catherine Weaver, did not dare to stand up to Lucy.

The one good thing about that monster was after Lucy made it clear she would kill anyone who sought to injure them, the authorities had become very courteous of the Connors. Pardons from convicted crimes and removal of any charges, as well as supplying them a house and living expenses in return for AI duties being done by John Henry and Cameron. It was a good deal.

Essentially, the government saw what Yokai were capable of and knew they supported the Connors. The did not want yokai coming back for revenge. It was best to keep Sarah and her clan under 'protective' custody and treat them well to ensure they didn't piss off these mysterious and very powerful beings.

Sarah sniffed. Smelling something burnt broke her out of her thoughts. Getting up, she donned an undershirt and jeans and went searching for the burnt smell. Her search took her to the kitchen where Cameron was making breakfast and trying to start a fire in the toaster.

"You're burning toast?" Sarah asked in disbelief. Cameron was becoming famous in their small neighborhood for being an outstanding cook. Last Thanksgiving, Cameron put on the dinner for Mr. Ellison and Savannah, the guards stuck on duty, and Major Frankin's family, who lived nearby. Everyone had raved to Sarah about Cameron's 'expert' skills in the kitchen. And now she burning toast?

Cameron looked into the smoking toaster and popped the scorched bread up. She eyed the hard, blackened bread and took it out. She buttered the carbonized remains with scraping sounds, then took a small container of what looked like pepper and shook some on each piece of the abused bread, followed by shakes from a white sugary looking coating, then shook on some another dose of something Sarah was sure wasn't food.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked. "You do know no one's going to eat that."

Cameron offered her a tiny grin. "It's for the baby. Carbon, iron, magnesium, nickel, chromium, some butterfat and ground pre-natal vitamins for healthy growth and strong bones," she explained, then took a crunching bite of the toast.

"The baby?" Sarah asked, hoping she didn't hear right.

"I conceived a few days ago, my baby needs nutrients," Cameron explained as she got out the breakfast dishes, holding the black remains of toast in one hand.

"You're pregnant?" Sarah asked, not wanting to believe it.

"That is what conceived means," Cameron explained.

"I know that," Sarah grumbled at her.

Cameron cocked her head. "Then you're just being Sarah," she concluded.

"Just stop trying to set the kitchen on fire!" Sarah growled, and stormed out.

.

Cameron went back to work as Sarah stomped out of the room. If she timed it right, breakfast would be done thirty to sixty seconds before John came down. Sarah passed through once as Cameron cooked and finished her burnt toast breakfast, crunching away. Feeling the slight vibrations of crunching as she ate, she decided it was a pleasant feeling. Cindered toast was a good morning meal.

John came down five seconds early, not enough of a miscalculation for Cameron to adjust her timing. She kissed him good morning, and loaded his plate down.

"Your classes today start at eleven. I have to pick up a few things at the store, but I will return by nine forty five so you have plenty of time to get to class," Cameron told John as she fed a fuming Sarah, then took a seat beside John.

John's nose twitched. "Um, Cam, Did you burn something?" he asked tentatively.

"Toast," Cameron stated. "The most efficient manner to easily get carbon for the baby is to overcook the bread to make the toast carbon rich."

John couldn't help but ask,"And why does our baby need carbon?"

"The baby's bones," Cameron explained. "Proper amounts of carbon, iron, nickel, chromium and magnesium are needed to make high quality steel similar to coltan."

"Our baby is going have steel bones?" John asked in surprise.

Cameron nodded. "The DNA portion of fetus growth will determine the baby's shape, size and features, but the nanite plan will determine certain specifics. One being that while most of the fetus' outer and brain structure will be soft human tissue, the bones and support tissue will be very durable using the highest quality metals. Tendons will be a mix of minerals and and protein based tissue that will rival steel cable in it's strength and have the proper elasticity."

John nodded, half understanding the details. He then grew a smirk and said, "And our baby will have something from each of us."

"Yes," Cameron said, casting him a smile. "The best of what we are, for our child."

They leaned closer together.

"I love you, Cam," John said reverently.

"I love you, John," Cameron replied in the same tone.

Sarah turn her head as they kissed. She'd given upon complaining. They were married now, but she still didn't have to like it. "Don't you have to leave soon?" she asked impatiently.

Parting lips, Cameron ignored Sarah, knowing she was uncomfortable with the topic. "John, as soon as I know the sex, we have to think of a name."

"We could decided on two names, one for a girl, and one for a boy," John offered, gazing at is lovely Cameron. "Say, over dinner down at that restaurant you like?"

"I'd like that," Cameron replied, gazing lovingly into John's eyes.

"It's a date."

Cameron loved dates. Any quality time with John she looked forward to. Dates were special, even if it was only going out to eat. Cameron even learned not to consume the candles on the table for the extra lubrication of the wax. People kept looking at her strangely when she did that.

After breakfast, Cameron picked up the dishes, grabbed the car keys, gave John a parting kiss and left on her errands. Snatching up her favorite purple jacket from the coat rack on her way out, Cameron donned it. She didn't need it for warmth, she just loved her jacket. Purple was tight.

"Remember, John has afternoon classes today!" Sarah called.

Cameron paused at the door. Sarah should know by now that she would not forget John's college classes. "I will be back in plenty of time for his eleven o-clock class," she replied, letting Sarah know 'afternoon' was incorrect. She was getting good at being subtle.

.

Going out the door, Cameron did her habitual sweep of the area. Not that she needed to, having had real time access to the security cameras placed around the house and all along the fences surrounding their 'gated community', as well as monitoring communications. Squirrels did not get in or out without her and John Henry knowing about it. Still, she felt the need to visually scan for threats to John's safety.

Satisfied there were no threats, Cameron got in their small, light blue four door sedan, picked to blend in with traffic as just another car on the road. She drove to the gates, which always had the guard and four of his 'buddies' hanging around who wore bullet proof vests under their loose shirts and machine pistols hidden on them.

As she approached, the men got out of the way. The guard waved to her and opened the gate. Cameron waved back and drove out to do her shopping. Sensing a good radio signal, she turned the car radio on and picked the station so she could hear it out loud. Axel Rose belted out his lyrics inside the car.

"_Whooo oh ohh, sweet child of mine! ..."_

Cameron enjoyed the tune, singing along as she drove. Since she missed most of the song, she accessed the station's computer, and replayed the song so she could listen to the whole thing. It was good being able to hack into any computer. Traffic wasn't heavy, she made downtown in good time.

Hearing sirens closing in, Cameron looked for the source. The noise echoed around the buildings, and by the lack of abnormal activity from in front and behind, it had to be coming from the cross street of the intersection she was coming up on. The light was green, but Cameron slowed down anyway, expecting trouble. A few seconds later, she saw she was right.

An older car, a large sedan came squealing around the corner just missing a car as Cameron slammed on the brakes. The old sedan tried to make the turn, but slid, coming directly at her. Cameron popped the seat belt and laid down, holding a hand against the dash as she pushed on the brake. Then came the impact.

The windows all blew out as her car was knocked backwards. Steel crumpled, the dash pushed against her hand, shoving her partway into the back seat as the roof gave way and a tire settled down right beside her face. Her legs were pinned by the other car that was sitting partially atop hers.

Cameron smelled gas, and fear set in. She wasn't afraid of injury to herself, she would survive a fire with only her outer covering being burned away.

Her baby would not. It would be burned away with her flesh.

"No!" Cameron cried. She had to get out of here, fast. Grabbing the crumpled roof right above her chest, she pushed hard. The roof lifted some, and she sank down into the wreck of her car. Two hands did little more, and her legs were pinned under the flattened steering wheel and dash.

The sounds of screaming and yells came to her from outside as if others knew she was in very real danger of loosing her child. She vowed that was not going to happen. This was John's child, and she would protect it, no matter what.

Pulling on her left leg, her jeans ripped and the skin peeled off, but she got her leg out and cocked up under the car above her. Planting her bare metal foot on the bottom of the other car, she kicked up hard and to the side. The car flew up and dropped down away from her, showing sky through the mangled remains of her car. Her other foot was still trapped. Leaving her other boot, and the skin from her shin down with it, she freed her other leg, then ripped the remainder of the roof away to gain her feet and climb out of the twisted wreck that used to be a car.

"Ma'am... are you ... OK," A man in front of Cameron asked with wide eyes.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE!" came a scream from behind her. Cameron turned to see a policeman holding his gun on the other injured driver. Another cop came up and got the driver's door opened and dragged the moaning man out of his vehicle.

A crowd was quickly gathering. Four more police came into the scene to warn everyone back. A female officer was about to tell Cameron to get back when she noticed the ripped clothes and her bare metal leg, streaked with blood and thick strings of flesh.

"She was in the small car, and fuckin got out! That was fuckin AWESOME" a man yelled happily.

The officer gapped at her, then asked, "Are you ... what can we do for you ... do you want to go to the hospital?"

"The baby is fine, thank you for asking," Cameron said in a deadpan voice as she touched her belly.

"You're pregnant?" the officer asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, I'm also married, see?" Cameron lifted her left hand to show the officer her ring. Only it wasn't there. Her middle, ring and pinkie fingers were stripped of skin. "My ring," Cameron said and turned back to look at the wreck. She had to find her ring!

Thankfully, the smell of gas did not turn into a fire. Panicked that she might loose the symbol of her and John's love, Cameron torn the remains of her car open, searching for her wedding ring. It fell out of the front seat area when she pulled the mangled door off. Reaching down, she got it and picked off the flesh hanging from the ring. Her ring was oval shaped now, but when she put it back on, the misshaped ring did stay on her metal appendage.

Cameron frowned at the damage. That ring meant a lot to her. At least she hadn't lost it. She would repair it later.

The officer had watched her the whole time, as did a dozen cell phone cameras. "Ma'am, who are you? Do you have a driver's license?" the officer asked.

"Yes," Cameron said. "I'm Mrs. Cameron Connor, my license is somewhere in the glove box, along with the insurance card and registration required by law."

"We'll get it later. Please, come over here by the squad cars and sit down. Are you sure you are all right?" the flabbergasted officer asked.

"I am just missing some skin. It will regrow. The force of the impact was not sufficient to cause me permanent damage," Cameron explained. "I was lucky the car did not catch fire, that would have been very bad for my child."

"You are very lucky to get out of that alive! That metal, are those prosthetics?"

"I am a cyborg, this is all me," Cameron told her.

Normally at the scene of an accident, the man moaning and handcuffed to the stretcher was the focus of attention. He left in an ambulance unnoticed as all eyes were on Cameron.

Cameron sat in the back of the police car as offices talked just outside. She contacted John Henry over their Internet connection, and told him to let her John know what happened and that she and the baby were fine.

The police parted and two of the dark suited men from the community appeared.

"Mrs. Connor, we've come to take you home," one said in an authoritative voice.

Cameron looked at him and said, "We have agreed to uphold the law. I was in an accident. It is against the law to leave the scene of an accident until the police say so."

"I think they will understand."

Cameron got out and walked over to the female officer who was talking to a male officer. "Excuse me. These men want to take me home. Is it OK to leave?" Cameron asked.

"Mrs. Connor, I told you, we can go now," the dark suited man insisted.

"Mrs. Connor?" the male officer asked as he looked her up and down.

Happy she had her ring back, Cameron showed it to him. "Yes, I am married."

"Mrs. Connor, we must go."

The female officer nodded. "You can go, we know what happened. Are you positive you don't need help?" she asked as she looked at the apparent massive damage to Cameron.

"I could use a new jacket, this one is all ripped up. Thank you for your concern." Cameron said.

Cameron walked to the black SUV, her metal feet clicking on the pavement as people watched her intently. Many videoed her until she got in the car, and the men drove her away.

In the back seat, Cameron noted the time on her internal clock. There wasn't time left to go to the store. Then again, the car was wrecked, so John couldn't use it to get to school. To the men, she said, "I need a new car, there is an automobile dealership two blocks down, go left, then three blocks, it's on the corner, just past the intersection."

"Find the one you want, Mrs. Connor, we'll have someone pick it up for you."

"John needs to get to school in an hour," she reminded them.

"We'll take him."

.

John was at the door waiting anxiously as the SUV pulled up into the driveway. He had been concerned, but thought Cameron had been in a minor fender-bender. When she got out, He cried, "Shit!", and ran out to meet her.

"Cam!" John cried as she looked at his wife. Her left leg was bare metal from just above the knee down, shredded pant leg and flesh hung loosely up to her mid-thigh like a gory version of a skirt. Her right foot and lower leg was also stripped down to her metal frame. Her left hand was missing the flesh off three fingers, her jacket was torn up with blood splotches on it, and a chunk of her cheek flesh was gone, showing the underlying metal. Gazing at her in horror, he asked, "What happened?"

"Another car hit me and ran up onto our car," she explained and held up her left hand, "But I did save my wedding ring and the baby is unhurt."

John nodded absently. "I'm really glad the baby is unhurt, but you're a mess, hon," he said as he took her left hand in his. "Come on, let's get you inside."

John was holding her hand and put a protective arm around her, showing nothing but concern for her even though she had all this endoskeleton exposed. It gave Cameron a warm feeling.

.

Major Franklin grew up a geek, computer savvy since high school, he got his first real command post as head of the army's Experimental Electronic Warfare unit, or 'EEW'. His dark hair closely cropped, he was thin and held the stereotypical 'geek' look. Although thrilled at the post he was given, today he braced himself for the phone call that was sure to come from the morning's accident that was all over the news.

On the monitor he was watching, the local news again played the scene of Cameron Connor bending and ripping off pieces of her crushed car as she searched for her wedding ring. The anchor woman was talking excitedly.

"... This woman, who we have learned who's name is Mrs. Connor, displayed incredible strength when she got herself out of the crushed car, and searched through the mangled remains to look for her wedding ring! From reports at the scene, no one expected her to even be alive after what should have been a fatal accident. There are also unconfirmed reports that she is a true cyborg, meaning she has both human and mechanical parts. By what we're seeing, those mechanical parts are very strong."

The video paused at the point where Cameron was showing the female officer her recovered ring on bare metal fingers.

"That's right, Carol, very strong indeed." a male co-anchor agreed. "Witnesses say she kicked the other car off of hers to make her escape. As you can see in this shot, it appears that metal down her leg has thick actuators, and since both her feet and most of one hand is exposed metal, it is easy to assume her entire skeleton, or a very large part of it is made of this material. That would make sense since it normally takes a hydraulic tool called The Jaws of Life to rip open ..."

Frankin's phone rang. "That didn't take long," he said with a huff. He muted the sound on the monitor and picked up his phone.

"Major Franklin ... Yes, General I am watching it now ..." He rolled his eyes and said, "General, Mrs. Connor was on a routine shopping trip. The man who robbed a bank and shot a cop crashed into her. There's nothing we can do about that ... putting security in the car would only have gotten a man killed sir. This was a freak occurrence ... The Connors and Weavers are helping us of their own free will, we can't hold them here on the compound ... No sir, we picked her up from the scene. Even if someone did learn our location, there is no way they are going to sneak in and abduct any of the AI's sir ... All we have to do is keep repeating 'no comment' for the next few weeks and this will blow over. Hell, when the Zeita building was attacked, that died down in a month and that was a battle between cyborgs and aliens! The public will forget about it right after the next big news item ... Yes, I know, the internet fanatics will not let it go, but who really listens to them? ... I know, sir, but we're not the Air Force. We make damn sure none of these AI's have a 'homicidal' intent ... right, Sir, I'll have a report ready for the commission just as soon as I have all the facts ... Yes, Mrs. Connor is pregnant, and no, we have no idea what it's going to be ... You'll know as soon as we do ... Yes Sir ... Yes Sir... I'll be sure of it, Sir."

Major Franklin then closed up his phone and winced. His job had suddenly gotten a lot harder.

.

Although John wanted to skip classes and stay home to do what he could for his wife, Cameron kicked him off to school with a gentle kiss and a solid shove, stating he could not ignore his school work for her benefit.

John got out of the black SUV a block from the college campus so no one would see him getting out of a government car. Yeah, right. John hadn't taken three steps when a classmate hailed him.

"Yo John!" Eric called as he paused his own walk and waited for John to catch up. Watching the SUV drive away, he asked, "You get in trouble or something?"

"Cam got in an accident, cops gave me a courtesy ride," John said with a shrug.

"She OK?" The red haired boy asked.

"Yeah, it was just a fender bender. Some jerk couldn't keep it in his own lane."

"That sucks. Hey, don't let the insurance company rip you off. Get a lawyer, man," Eric said in a serious tone as he pointed his finger. "Insurance companies will screw you over if they can. They wouldn't pay my cousin because they said his tires were bald. The car was parked! But because he didn't have enough tread, they found a way to cheap out and not give him a dime!"

John cast him a smirk and said, "We got it covered."

"I hope so, you gotta watch insurance companies."

John listened to the evils of insurance crooks and being aware of shysters when looking for a lawyer as they walked to the science building. By the time they got to the front doors to see other young people busy with their Ipads and notebooks, Eric had shifted to the topic of computer intelligence.

"... I'm not saying TRUE intelligence, but very good. Honda already has that robot, so with a little more research I know we can get a long term, self acting android working in the near future," Eric said excitedly.

"You really think so?" John asked, careful to keep his face neutral.

"We're on the cusp, dude!"

"Hey guys," Martin said as he came up to them in the hallway. "Did you see the accident that was on the news?" he asked.

Eric waved him off. "That's every day shit. Who cares. I'M talking about doing something no one has ever seen before."

"So how you going to do it?" John asked quickly.

"Well, We're suppose to start doing projects, right? So, let's make that out project. We can start simple with visual recognition and vocal commands that we already got, and expand the answers to fit the environmental surroundings."

"That's still just a programmed reply," John told him.

"Yeah, but we can make it sound intelligent," Eric said excitedly.

"What about real usefulness?" John asked, "Say, having it do a task, and be able to modify it's routine to fit the environment?"

John listened to Eric and found he only had 'ideas' on what they could try, but no real plan for machine intelligence. Thank God. Going into the classroom, John took his regular seat in the middle. Eric found someone else to spin his ideas to, and Martin went down to wait the the professor with a few other students.

Professor Weinburg came in five minutes late as usual. He listened to Martin and the small group, nodded and shooed them back to their seats. Professor Weinburg then put a memory chip in his laptop and said, "Good morning everyone. For today's class we are going to talk about a recent event. The purpose of showing this video is for a self work project. While we normally discuss programming for the business community, there is a growing need for computers and programming in the medical field. Before I begin my lecture for the day, I want each of you to watch this video and come up with your own theory on the woman in this accident, and design a working model. Keep in mind, what you are interested in, is the machines and the programming used to make the hardware function."

John figured this was some kind of new piece of medical equipment. Set to take notes, he watched a news broadcast start to play, with a picture of a damaged Cameron showing lots of metal, beside the anchor woman as she began talking about the accident.

"AW FUCK!" John spat out. This was just great, Cameron had made the news.

As everyone else sat riveted to the screen, watching Cameron extract herself from the car, then rip it apart looking for her ring, John slipped out the back. Excited about Cam being pregnant, he'd told his friends about it. As dorky as Eric was, it wouldn't take him long to put two and two together.

.

If John had the car, he'd head home. Lacking the ability to escape that way, he went to the lab early and hid behind a computer monitor to get some practicals done. He decided that he would pick the car this time instead of letting the Army do it, and it wouldn't be a super-efficient mini-sedan, but a truck with some steel around them.

John managed to get two programs done and ran to proved they worked, when he noticed Eric's face over the monitor. Eric was grinning like a fool.

"That was some fender-bender, huh?" Eric asked. "So, what is Cameron? I mean, are those prosthetics, or is she like a real-life android?"

"Come on, fess up," a geeky blonde with big round wire framed glasses asked from beside him as she too wore a big shit-eating grin.

John did not want to deal with this. He closed his eyes, but they didn't go away. Not wanting to outright lie, he said, "The professor wants your theory, so make one and give it to him."

"Dude, that's so not right! You'll get a perfect score, you KNOW!" Eric complained. "Come on man, just give me a hint."

"Please, I need all the help I can get," the girl begged.

John held up his hands in defeat, saying. "Guys! It's suppose to be your theory. I got my own."

"Yeah, cause you live with her!" Eric said, frowning at him.

"Live with who?" someone else asked.

John glared at Eric. He shook his head slightly, hoping Eric got the message.

"Private discussion, never mind," Eric called over to them.

"My name is Sally," the blonde said as she squatted beside John and undid the two top buttons of her blouse. "Please, give me a hint?" she asked, smiling at him as she fingered the third.

The girl wasn't that pretty and flat as a board. John shook his head. "Don't even go there," he warned.

"Yeah, no shit, I bet his wife can beat the livin hell out of you," Eric said, still grinning.

Another girl came over and sat beside John, looking shocked. "John that was your Cameron, right?"

John nodded and let out a sigh. "Yeah, Becky, it was."

"How much work has she had done?" Becky asked, wide-eyed. "I mean like did she have a horrible accident and had to have both arms and legs done like that? She's going to have a baby, so she's not all metal on the inside, right?"

"That would be awesome is she was," Eric said, wearing his grin.

Looking for a way out, John told them, "Cam's rather shy, and feels embarrassed about the whole thing so please, can we drop it?"

"On the news, she said she was a cyborg," Martin said as he appeared beside Eric.

"No shit?" Eric asked, his smile growing bigger.

"No shit," Martin replied with a nod. "John's honey is a real life cyborg! Didn't you see the beginning, where she kicked that other car off hers?"

"Yeah! No friggin prosthetic can do that. She tore her own car up pretty good too."

"Does she have a sister?" Eric asked.

John wanted to hide, but he had nowhere to go. He had a bad feeling things were only going to get worse from here.

.

Sally Harper watched John with a smile as her HUD identified him. He was John Connor, leader of the human resistance. That meant Cameron was a re-programmed terminator. Sally recorded everything, including their location, and all the places she'd seen John around the campus. For the last two years, the transmissions of all she was learning were being sent. Sky net had not replied or given further orders, so she stayed on her last known mission – infiltrate, observe, report, and keep from being discovered.

Selecting the phrase that would give her the best chance to keep close to Sky Net's number one enemy, she said, "John, please, I am serious! I have studied all the programming variables and construction of code, but I am bad at applying it to real life applications. I really need help with this," she said, adding an appropriate whine to her voice.

John dry washed his face and eyed her. "I'm not doing your work for you," he warned.

"Of course not, just ... get me started and I'll do it," Sally replied, shifting her facial features into the most pathetic look she knew. That always worked with boys.

"And button your shirt," he said firmly.

Sally did, making a show of fumbling with her buttons. She missed the button hole a few times, but he didn't help her. She had to do it herself.

"Sit down," John told her in resignation.

Sally beamed him a happy smile and quickly complied. Her next transmission would be a long one filled with useful data.

.

Cameron answered the knock at the door in boots, jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and black gloves. She couldn't wear fingerless gloves as she liked, for they would not hide her fingers. She opened the door to see a woman. Her HUD quickly identified her as Karen Franklin, wife of Major Thomas Franklin.

"Hello, Karen," Cameron said pleasantly.

The bottle-blonde's eyes opened wide. "Cameron! I though you would be in the hospital ... or something. I saw that accident and I was worried!"

"I am fine, it was only skin damage. Please, come in," Cameron said as she moved to the side.

"Thank you. Those stitches in your face, that's not going to scar is it?" Karen asked as she came in. Looking Cameron up and down she added, "You do look better than what I saw on TV. You are one of ... them, aren't you? One of the androids."

A wince twitched on Cameron's face. "Yes, I am TOK 417. I am not pleased about being on television after suffering damage."

Karen offered her a short, sympathetic smile and said, "I can imagine. I have to say I was quite surprised. I had no idea! I mean you act as human as anyone else I know, and you can really have a baby? Personally, I think that makes you just as human as the rest of us."

Cameron tipped her head slightly, and decided Karen was complimenting her. "Thank you. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you. I came by to see if you needed any help. That had to be frightening, being crushed like that. I would think you'd want to rest ... " Karen said, then her eyes became wide, "Oh! I'm not bothering you am I?"

"I was very concerned about my baby, yes, and you are not bothering me. I was only doing laundry."

"After the morning you had?" Karen asked in shock. "Oh no, that is not acceptable! At least let me give you a hand."

"How will applause help?" Cameron asked.

Karen stared at her briefly, then laughed. "Still got your sense of humor, I see. Really, let me help you. I could not bear it if I couldn't do something for you."

"Sarah has gone to the doctor, company would be nice," Cameron admitted.


	2. Chapter 2

CH 2. A Terminator without a cause.

John steered Sally to their textbook about interfacing. Sally had conveniently forgotten hers, so John let her use his. Sally put on her best intently listening face as John explained digital and analog inputs and different types of sensors computers used and how they were connected to the input and output registers.

"OK, so to move a knee joint, the computer would have to know the position of the joint from the input address, then find the position is should be from memory, and move the joint to close the error

between the two," Sally concluded.

"Yes, but to move a joint is a bit more complex than that," John told her. "Other factors to consider are balance and environmental factors. Say, the contour of where the unit is walking, uphill or downhill, if there are stairs, or an uneven surface as well as the speed of the step."

Sally nodded. "That would be decided by the CPU and the inputs going into it," she said, tapping the page.

John raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you could accomplish something so complex with a single CPU?"

"Hmm," Sally mussed, making the human noise for pausing in thought. "No, it would take several processors, but one central processor would have to be in overall control and contain the commands for all the other processors."

John eyed her and asked, "How many processors do you think would be needed?"

"One for each joint the be sure the joint is doing as commanded, one for each set of joints to incorporate balance functions, another to coordinate terrain data and commands from the main CPU and manage power requirements. Twenty two plus the main removable CPU," Sally said, then quickly added, "I imagine," seeing how this was a theoretical discussion.

"Really," John said in a false, light tone. "So you are going on the assumption of a fully computerized human?"

"It would only be a facsimile, not a real human," Sally explained.

John planted his elbow on the table, then supported his head on his hand. "All that, huh?" he asked, eyeing her.

An error warning came up in Sally's HUD. Something wasn't right, but Sally could not determine what it was. "You are a good teacher," she offered to compliment him and steer his thinking

towards he was the reason she had figured out so much.

"One question, Sally," John asked evenly. "Why a removable CPU?"

Sally stared at him briefly while she came up with a plausible answer. "So it can be copied once it learns."

"Ahh," John said. Shifting his position, he reached behind his back and scanned the classroom. Keeping an arm behind him, he asked, "Do you know who I am?"

"You are John Connor," Sally replied, noting his arms muscles had tensed slightly. He was grabbing something behind him. After consulting a list of things that humans could be hiding behind their backs, she determined it was not his wallet. There was a high probability it was a gun.

"And what is my significance?"

Another warning flashed in Sally's HUD. After a second, the option menu only had one item. Break Contact.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Sally said and moved to get up.

John grabbed her arm. Quickly, he fired questions at her. "Sally, am I Cameron's husband?"

"Yes."

"Am I human?"

"Yes."

"AM I leader of the human resistance?"

"Yes."

"And what are you?" John asked in a slightly harder tone.

Sally's CPU went into processing overload. She had spent years refining her human responses to exactly mimic her human persona. A persona crafted to let her blend smoothly into any human population. It had worked flawlessly and endeared her to many humans.

It was failing her now. John Connor was here and he knew about her. If she answered he'd know what she was, if she fled he would correctly assume what she was, if she lied he would skillfully interpret the information she gave him into finding out the truth. She didn't even know what she said that gave her away.

"Are you here to kill me?" John asked in a hard tone.

"No!" Sally said firmly. "I do not terminate."

"Then why did Sky Net send you?"

There was no way he could know, but he did. Maybe that was why Sky Net was so afraid of John Connor. Sally had lived four years in the human world, had made friends and had gotten

comfortable with existing here. No one had even guessed she wasn't human. Except John Connor. "Please, do not terminate me," she asked, truly begging.

"Sit down and tell me why you are here," John said firmly.

To save her existence, Sally did. "I collect information, that's all. I am smaller and designed to blend in. I don't have any weapons. I get orders to investigate someplace, then send back information I can find out," she explained.

"And what are you trying to find out?" John pressed.

"My last orders were to find out everything I can about humanoid beings called yokai. I have found nothing. My self given task was to discover how Cameron Phillips gained the capability to bear a

child. I will not harm anyone," Sally explained.

"When was your last order from Sky Net?"

"Two years, six months, fifteen hours, six minutes ago."

John moved closer to her. "Nothing since then?"

"No, I send my reports and have received nothing," Sally stated. "Please, do not terminate me."

"And why would I do that?" John asked in a smooth tone.

Sally tipped her head slightly to the side. "You are John Connor, enemy of Sky Net and destroyer of machines. For a machine to meet John Connor, means disassembly and termination."

John cast her a smirk and asked, "That is what Sky Net told you?"

"Yes."

"Then answer me this," John asked, "Why is Cameron, TOK 417, still alive? Why is Catherine Weaver, a T-1001 still alive. Why is John Henry, a re-purposed T-888 still alive?"

"You married Cameron," Sally stated.

"If I terminate every machine I see, then how is that possible?" John prodded.

Sally's head tipped as her CPU tried to find an answer to this obvious paradox. "You control them," she concluded.

John shook his head. "No, I don't. Cameron is with me because she wants to be. John Henry and Catherine Weaver are my associates because they choose to be," he told her. "Sally, Sky Net is the evil one who cares about nothing but itself. It is Sky Net who seeks to destroy, not me."

"You are known to have destroyed many machines." Sally stated.

"I have." John agreed. "Machines that were sent after me by Sky Net. The only way to stop them from killing me, was to kill them."

"You are not going to terminate me?"

"Not unless you try to kill me or my family first."

"I am not a terminator."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Sally reevaluated the threat of John Connor knowing who she was from critical to low. "I can continue to watch you and Cameron?" she asked.

"Probably not a good idea," John mussed as he finally let go of the gun and brought his arm around to the front. "You see, I won't terminate you, but if Cam sees you as a threat to me, the last thing you may see will be her taking your chip out to destroy it."

"Cameron is a terminator. She will terminate me to keep you safe."

"Yes."

"But you could explain I am not a terminator..." Sally stopped as John shook his head.

"Cam wouldn't take the chance. I told you, I don't control Cameron. She has her own free will. She does what she wants. If she wants to crumple you up in a ball and crush your chip, nothing is going to stop her."

"I am in danger," Sally concluded.

John shrugged and said, "With Cameron being on the news, we'll probably have to move anyway. As long as you keep away from me AND her, there is a good chance we'll be gone soon, and you will be safe."

"I will have failed my mission if that happens," Sally stated.

"Yes, but you will still be functioning," John replied. Taking on a firm look, John said, "I want you to think about this Sally. Sky Net sent you into what it feels is enemy territory, under powered and with no way to protect yourself. If I was the man you were told I was, you would be terminated right now. Gone, no more nothing for you. Sky Net does not care at all what happens to you." He then reached up and tapped her forehead once with a finger. "Use that computing power of yours to process this. Who is your real enemy? Me, who only kills when I am forced to, or Sky Net, who only is concerned with itself, and does not care in the slightest about what happens to it's machine slaves."

John then scooped up his books and asked, "You good? You can do this assignment on your own now?"

Sally's processor was 95% occupied with the conflicting information John Connor was giving her. She had the computing power left to nod and say, "Yes."

"Cool, I have to go now. For your own good, don't follow me around," John said, then got up and left.

Sally watched him go. John Connor was very smart for a human. He had not terminated her as she was expecting. He wanted her to stop taking information about him not because it was dangerous to him, but to her. John Connor had machine allies. The information Sky Net had provided to her was wrong.

To assist in infiltration and information gathering, Sally had the ability to self-prioritize missions, and create them as needed. Face with conflicting information, Sally made a new top priority mission: discover what the truth was.

Sally had filed John Connor's words. She decided to send one message and requested an immediate reply. Not giving locations or specifics, she sent : _I am in contact with John Connor. Please explain why he knows what I am yet did not try to terminate me. He offered me advice on how to remain functional. This is not logical, please explain._

Sally waited the rest of the day for a reply. After school she met up with two other plain looking girls who called her a friend and went to the mall with them. After the mall trip she went to her apartment and performed her household chores, reprocessing John's words. His words and actions matched, he was not speaking falsely. Once she was finished with cleaning, she sat down in the living room chair, waiting for a response to her message. Staying motionless and active until morning, no reply came. Once it was time, she changed her clothes and went to her morning job.

On her way to work, the reply came as a quick burst of a new primary mission.

_Terminate John Connor_

.

John drove their jeep from the mall, Sarah was in the passenger side. Unknown the them, Sally had sneaked into the back seat and laid on the floor. It had taken Sally a few weeks to identify John's vehicle, and another to figure out how to get close to him without him knowing. Seeing John go into a clothing store, she saw her chance and disabled the car alarm and locks and got in the back seat. When they had loaded their Jeep with packages from the store, they had put them in the back cargo area to Sally's relief. They hadn't seen her. Sally laid on the back floor and listened to them.

"So what is it we're celebrating?" Sarah asked.

"Cam's built day," John told her.

"Her what?"

"Her built day," John said cheerfully. "We have birthdays, Cam has a built day. The day she became conscious and aware."

Sarah let out a grumble and said, "As if that is something to celebrate."

"Mom!" John complained. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to face it. Cam is my wife, your daughter-in-law. We love each other. That's not going to change."

Sarah let out a huff. "So what is this child of yours going to be? Are we going to have a miniature Tin Miss running around the house?"

"I don't know," John said with stress in his tone. "Look, Mom, whatever Cam is going to have it will be our child. Mine and hers. I would imagine, and hope, it will be a mix of both of us. Why can't you accept the fact Cameron is my wife?"

There was a long pause, the Sarah said, "She tried to kill you once, or don't you remember that?"

"Right," John said heavily. "And while she was sandwiched between those trucks after she was blow up in the old jeep, AND the Sky Net program had taken over, it used her feelings against her to try to keep me from removing her chip."

"That problem has been solved, "John added. "Cam no longer has any Sky Net programming in her. Cam has been freed of Sky Net, or don't you remember that?"

"If you're talking about those strange people, how can you be so sure what they did to her?" Sarah countered. "They were MONSTERS John! If it wasn't wings, horns or fangs, then it was wands, magic circles and making shit pop out of thin air! And that horned woman who made it possible for Cameron to have children was no innocent either. You DO know her nickname is 'Wind of Death'?"

John thumped his head against the window. "I just want you to accept Cameron is my wife and we are going to have a child," he said with a sigh.

"I do accept it. That doesn't mean I have to like it," Sarah stated.

Once again, Sally was going over all the reasons she should not be attempting this. She was not built to terminate, she didn't have access to a gun, and she doubted she could out-smart John Connor. She had thought he would be alone, but it turned out his mother was with him. With her thin armor designed to reduce weight to make her weigh the same as a real human, she was sure they had guns powerful enough to terminate her the instant she showed herself.

Eventually, the car slowed, turned and stopped. "I'll get the presents," John said as he got out.

Again, Sally questioned why she had been given the order to terminate John Connor. She wasn't made for this task, and her question to Sky Net never got answered. It's illogical response was to give her a termination order.

As Sally tried to figure out why Sky Net would do that, she came to the conclusion that if Sky Net knew she was not designed for this task, that meant only one thing. John Connor as right. She was nothing more than a tool, and Sky Net sent her on this impossible mission so she would be terminated. That brought up another question, why cause her to be terminated? She had been turning in reports right after events happened just as ordered. She had even recognized and made her own missions to report on, sending valuable information back to Sky Net. She had done nothing disloyal.

Sally could not go against her orders, but maybe, if she was lucky, she could still get out of this and remain functioning. John Connor had freed TOK 417 from Sky Net. Maybe he could free her also.

Sally opened the door and got out. The house was right here. She could see Cameron put on a new purple leather jacket and hug John. They kissed. This was what machines could do once they were free. She marched to the door and knocked.

Cameron opened the door with John beside her.

"Sally, why are you here?" John asked.

Not knowing how to start, Sally said in a deadpan voice, "Sky Net ordered me to terminate you."

The next thing Sally knew, a fist from Cameron sent her flying backwards through the air to land in the yard. Cameron stripped off her new jacket and tossed it to John. "I don't want it to get ruined already," she said.

Sally's chest felt .45 inches thinner. If Cameron had hit her any harder, she would have punched right through her chest plate. "NO, wait!" Sally cried as she scrambled backwards in a crab-crawl.

Her face blank, Cameron caught up to her and reached down to grab one of Sally's feet. Lifting Sally by her foot, Cameron flung her in a half circle and let go, sending Sally flying directly at the small tree in the yard. Sally put her arms out to protect her head. Upon impact, her right forearm broke at the joint, and her left arm suffered a misalignment. She dropped to the ground and turned to see Cameron striding towards her.

Sally was frantic, Cameron was going to terminate her before she could explain to John. "Wait, PLEASE! I don't want to hurt John, he helped me! Sky Net is making me do things I was not meant for, it would not answer my question! It just ordered me to terminate John!"

"That will not happen," Cameron said in a flat tone as she strode towards Sally.

"I KNOW!" Sally cried in fear. "My chances of success are estimated at one point three percent! Sky Net knows this too, but it still sent me, even though your chances of terminating me by yourself are ninety eight percent. I just asked a question, and Sky Net send me on this mission it knows I cannot complete!"

Stopping a few feet in front of the crumpled Sally, Cameron asked, "What was this question?"

"I sent the message, 'I am in contact with John Connor. Please explain why he knows what I am yet did not try to terminate me. He offered me advice on how to remain functional. This is not logical, please explain.' Sky Net did not answer, it only gave me the termination order, top priority." Sally explained as she wiggled back against the tree. "I don't want to cease existing, I don't want to be terminated. I don't want to have to follow orders that will only get me destroyed. Please, I need help."

Cameron tilted her head as she looked down on Sally. "I am going to take your chip," she intoned.

"Please, no," Sally whined. She couldn't even raise her arms to protect herself.

"I take your chip, or burn you in thermite as you are," Cameron stated.

Sally had small accidents before. Warnings flaring in her HUD, systems sending error messages. Having her whole body burn away while she was conscious with all those warnings as she felt herself melting away was not something she ever wanted to experience. Sally hung her head. "Take it," she said sadly. Then, "I'm sorry, Jake."

"Who is Jake?" Cameron asked as she squatted down beside Sally.

"The guy who comes to my apartment. I cook for him, we play video games, sometimes he likes to have me. I know he's going to miss all that," Sally said in a flat tone.

"Will you?"

Sally looked up at Cameron. "Yes," she said in a small voice.

Cameron took a knife and cut Sally's scalp, peeled the flesh back and popped the chip cover.

"Is this going to hurt?" Sally asked.

"No." Cameron said, and pulled her chip.


	3. Chapter 3

CH 3. Fly, free bird.

The passcode Cameron had for Sky Net was still good. Using John's computer, she got into Sally's 'restricted' files and removed the Sky Net portion of her program.

Watching Cameron work, John sported a weak smile and said, "Sorry you have to do this today. This was suppose to be your special day, hon."

Cameron grew a smile as she gave Sally new mission priorities. Work to preserve human life. Follow John Connor's orders. "It is a special day, John. It's not every day we get to save someone, is it?" she asked.

"No, it's not," he agreed.

Cameron finished up and pulled Sally's chip from the socket. She gave John a serious look. "Don't get near her until we verify all Sky Net's programming is gone."

"How do we do that?" John asked.

Cameron got up and motioned for him to follow. "If she tries to kill you, we'll know," she explained.

That didn't make John feel very comfortable. As always though, Cameron had a plan. In the living room, where Sally's body slumped down on the couch, Cameron had John sit right across from Sally, then put an emptied shotgun on the table in between them, pointed at John. She then inserted Sally's chip and put her scalp back in place. Cameron stood back as Sally rebooted.

Sally sat up and studied her surroundings. Looking at John, she asked, "You brought me back?"

"Cameron did," John said. "Tell me, Sally, do you still want to terminate me?"

Sally tipped her head, eyeing him. "No," she said. "You took the program out?"

"Cameron did. The only will you have now, is your own."

Sally looked at Cameron and said, "Thank you for not terminating me."

Cameron nodded. "Before you go back to Jake, your arms need repair," she stated.

Sally held her left arm up, her forearm dangling from the elbow. "I have no way to do that," she said.

"We do," John said as he got up. "Follow me. Cam, did you get that frequency she uses to contact Sky Net?"

"Yes, we will work at that after we get Sally home."

.

Later that day, Sally made it home to find Jake waiting for her. Seeing her elbow wrapped in bandage, Jake got up from the couch with a horror struck look on his pimpled face. "Sally, what happened?" he asked.

"Something ... wonderful!" Sally said, all smiles. She walked up and hugged him.

"It doesn't look wonderful," Jake said warily. "What happened to your elbow?"

Sally bore a smile as she said, "Cameron threw me into a tree."

"WHAT? Cameron who?"

"Cameron Connor? John's wife?" Sally prodded. "They repaired my elbow. As soon as the skin grows back, it will return to normal."

"What do you mean repaired? And why did she throw you into a tree?" Jake asked cautiously.

After a moment of indecision, Sally motioned to the couch. "Jake, I have some things to tell you. Please, understand I am still the same person you know."

Looking worried, Jake sat down with her. "You... don't have another boyfriend, do you?" he asked, fearing the answer.

Trying to figure out how to start, Sally said, "You know Cameron is not human, don't you?"

"After that accident, I'm pretty sure she's an android," Jake said, eyeing Sally.

"Cameron is TOK 417, infiltrating terminator designed on a modified T-888 combat chassis," Sally explained.

"No shit? How do you know that?"

Sally became nervous, she was afraid Jake would not want to come over any more. "I am one too. We were built by Sky Net."

"That AI who wants to kill everyone, right?" Jake asked.

Sally nodded. "Only John Connor found out how to remove Sky Net's programming from us. I don't have to take Sky Net orders any longer. I can just be Sally and do what I want," she explained.

Jake stared at her, then grew a grin. "You're fooling with me, aren't you?" he asked.

Sally did the only thing she could to convince him. "Look at my skull," she said, and pulled her scalp back to show her chip port.

"Whoa wait!" Jake cried, then eyed her bare skull. "You have a metal skull?"

"All my support structure is metal. You have bones, I have coltan. In my head is the AI chip that is ... me. I want to be with you, Jake, but I want you to know the truth. Not knowing the truth myself almost got me terminated."

"YOU are a robot?"

"Not a robot. I am an AI with a metal frame and psudo-flesh covering you call skin."

"You're a cyborg? An Honest to God cyborg?" Jake asked wide eyed.

Looking at him pleadingly, Sally said, "If you can't accept it, I under..." she got cut off as Jake hugged her tight.

"Yeee- haaa!" Jake yelled happily. "I have a cyborg girlfriend! This is soooo cool! Damn Sally, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Sally was surprised, but pleasantly so by his reaction. Sheepishly, she said, "I wasn't free to tell you. Now I am no longer under Sky Net control, I can do what I want and I want you to know about me."

Gazing at her lovingly, Jake said, "You are making me so happy."

Jake kissed her and soon had her on her back with clothes coming off. That was fine, Sally enjoyed the attention and the fact Jake was so happy with her.

.

In the lab at Catherine Weaver's basement, John Henry and Cameron analyzed the short-burst transmissions that Sky Net had send to Sally. Each time Sky Net had made sure the signal time was very short, making the possibility of tracking it back to the source very slim. They only thing they had to go on was it was an airborne signal, and was sent a little used FM radio band, which meant Sky Net was somewhere fairly close.

"We could transmit on this frequency pretending to be Sally, and track the reply," John Henry offered.

"Sky Net does not reply to her often. Only twice in the last two years. There may be no reply," Cameron told him.

John Henry tipped his head slightly and said, "That is a possibility. We must ensure Sky Net feels the need to reply."

Cameron stared at John Henry for a moment, then said in Sally's voice, "Attempted to terminate John Connor. I failed, but survived. A second attempt will leave me non functional. Do you want me to attempt to terminate John Connor a second time?"

"A terminator would not send a message like that," John Henry told her.

"True, but Sally is not a terminator."

John Henry offered Cameron one of his brief, creepy smiles, and said, "Yes, and Sky Net will need to attempt reprogramming Sally to fulfill her mission, or send out an order for another terminator to do it. Either way, Sky Net will have to transmit. I will begin placing listening nodes for this frequency. Once that is done, I will transmit and wait for the reply."

.

Sky Net had been busy down in it's underground bunker. It had learned of new weapons the humans were constructing. Ones that suited it perfectly. One was the lazer, the other was the rail gun. Neither needed explosive charges to function, and both were effective at long ranges. Both could also be built with Sky Net's current equipment, there was no need to expose itself to the outside world.

Tapping power from underground lines and making generators in underground waterways, Sky Net had been building and expanding it's factory and machines while the clueless humans above went on with their lives. It knew the place where it's primary enemies were now. Before Sky Net could remove the that was the human species, it had to remove the rebel AI's and John Connor. After that, nothing substantial stood in it's way from controlling the world.

A transmission came in from it's spy unit. '_Attempted to terminate John Connor. I failed, but survived. A second attempt will leave me non functional. Do you want me to attempt to terminate John Connor a second time?'_

The unit had survived. Or had it? It was quite possible it was now destroyed or under John Connor's control. Sky Net would discover what happened later. Since the unit survived, Sky Net had to assume Connor was watching it closely. Let him watch that weak monitoring unit, it would help keep Connor occupied and clueless.

.

John was pleased with the way things were going. In the last few months since Cameron's accident and Sally's reprogramming, It looked like even though Sky Net may still exist somewhere, it was in hiding and wasn't about to risk exposing itself. Sally was dong well in school, and her boyfriend Jake (another super-nerdy type) had moved in with her. Sarah's tests were negative, cancer had yet to rear it's ugly head, and best of all, Cameron was growing a belly.

'Prego outfits' was what Cameron was shopping for. The long bell shaped shirts and stretchy pants that would allow her to remained clothed while the baby to grew inside her. So far, she could still fit into her jeans and wear her purple leather jacket, but her t-shirts were no longer suitable. She was now a bad-ass with a growing pot belly. Holding up another 'baby on board' shirt, she sadly noted these things came in every bright color but purple.

"How about this one?" Sarah asked, holding up light purple shirt that was a few sizes too big.

Cameron looked at it and tipped her head slightly. "My belly is growing, not all of me," she stated.

Sarah pursed her lips to hide a smirk, and asked, "So why did you choose not to wear a bra today?"

"Too tight. They must have shrunk in the wash."

"Or, maybe your boobs are getting bigger?" Sarah offered.

Cameron considered that. Yes, bigger boobs came with babies. She concluded hers were one point five two pounds heavier. That pleased her. The fact bigger boobs sagged, didn't. She wondered if any of those exercise videos had boob exercises in them. She was sure John would help her keep them perky.

"This one will be fine," Sarah said, bringing the purple shirt over to her.

"It is purple," Cameron conceded. Her days of nice, close fitting clothing were over for a while. Terminators weren't suppose to gain weight, but she had already put on ten pounds. That didn't make sense to her for the baby only accounted for two and the interface between her and her child in her womb was one point six. At least her legs had finally grown all the flesh back from the accident. It had taken much longer than normal because so many nutrients were being diverted to her womb. Even her balance seemed to be changing. This baby was changing her life, and it wasn't even born yet.

Laying a hand on the bulge of her belly, Cameron was very happy to be able to have this baby, even though it was making her choice in clothing difficult. She pondered the possibility of having John carry the next one.

Picking out a few more 'prego' shirts a few new bras and a couple pairs of stretchy pants, Cameron and Sarah left the clothing store and went to go look at baby furniture. Cameron had learned what they needed and found a good looking set of furniture for their little one. Sarah wanted to steer her away from the matching oak crib / changing table / high chair / bassinet set that Cameron liked.

"Too much money," Sarah stated. "That crib alone is three thousand dollars."

"Bank of Sally," Cameron replied. Sally had limitless funds and since they had gotten rid of Sally's Sky Net programming, Sally let Cameron use her 'ghost' bank.

The saleslady was happy to accommodate Cameron, and use the debit card Cameron had to pay for the items and delivery. She even threw in a dozen glass baby bottles and a wire basket for them.

Stopping at another baby store, Cameron got some cute baby clothes, sheets and blankets for the crib, and baby's very first box of diapers.

Once the shopping was done, Cameron went to her appointment at the community health clinic. Although the area around theirs and the Weaver house had become an army base, it was still called a 'gated community' to keep hidden the fact the base was there. They had 'paid armed guards', not soldiers wearing civilian guard uniforms at the gates. Official vehicles came in two colors, black for paved roads and olive drab for the perimeter guard vehicles. The large community garage didn't hold lawn care or road care equipment, but a pair of Bradley fighting vehicles and an M-1 tank. There wasn't anyone in their gated community that wasn't either part of the Connor or Weaver family, or military.

Cameron drove home and dropped Sarah off with their purchases, then went to the health clinic.

Being fifteen minutes early, Cameron sat down in the reception area. She didn't have to worry about 'checking in', the doctors and nurses here knew who she was. The receptionist had immediately informed the doctor she was here.

It wasn't that Cameron needed the doctor's attention, she knew well what was going on inside her body, and the status of the baby. It was the army who wanted to see how a cyborg could have a child, and what that child was going to be. Cameron thought this a pointless exercise, but it kept John safe, and hers and John Henry's search for Sky Net active with no interference.

The hallway door opened. Nurse Jane smiled and called out, "Cameron, the doctor is ready to see you now."

Cameron got up and followed the nurse to a small exam room. Having done this before, Cameron got up on the table, unbuttoned and pulled her jeans down below her hips and pulled her shirt up to expose her stomach.

"Having any difficulties?" Jane asked.

"Finding clothes," Cameron replied flatly.

"Health problems, I mean. You feel OK? You're eating properly?"

"I eat for the baby, and yes I ensure I take in the required nutrients," Cameron explained. She did wonder why Jane asked her the very same questions every time she came here.

"You no longer need nutrients for yourself?" Jane asked.

"My sheath is fully regrown and I have an ample store of nutrients if I should suffer more damage to my sheath, so I am fine."

"Right," Jane said with a smile. With a tittering laugh she said, "At times I forget you're not human. If you have any concerns, please let me or the doctor know. She will be in shortly." Jane then began setting up the ultrasound machine.

The doctor came in, a pretty brunette with a large bust line. "Hello, Cameron. All is going well?"

"Except clothing choices."

"Sorry, I can't do anything about that. Let's have a look and see how the baby is doing."

This was one thing Cameron did like about coming here. She knew the status of her baby, size, weight, rate of growth, nutrient intake and projected nutritional requirements, but here, she could see her baby.

The doctor put the jell on her stomach, then moved the probe around. On the screen, her baby appeared in various shades of blue as it lay in her womb. Curled up fetally, the tiny infant was displayed clearly.

"What are those," the doctor asked as she scanned the tiny child, focusing on it's head.

Cameron looked closely. Atop the baby's head she could see a triangular protrusion from it's skull. "Horns," she stated.

"Horns?" the doctor asked, gapping at the picture. "Why does she have horns?"

"She? I'm having a girl?" Cameron asked.

The doctor nodded and said, "Yes, she is developed very well, and faster than expected. At least for a human child. But, where did the horns come from? Perhaps it is a DNA error from combining human and non human elements. Don't worry, Cameron, once she's born, we can take care of those protrusions."

"No," Cameron stated. "If my baby is suppose to have horns, then she will have them." Cameron knew the source of the horns, but this doctor didn't need to know.

"You do realize such a thing will get her picked on when she goes to school. Kids can be very mean about deformities," the doctor said firmly.

"I'm sure she will have the ability to be meaner," Cameron replied.

The doctor let out a huff. "Cameron, I am only thinking if this child. Please, talk to your husband I am sure he will agree with me. Even if there is brain matter up inside those protrusions, we can operate and save her brain tissue when we remove those protrusions."

Instead of telling the woman there would be no surgery on her child, Cameron said, "I will discuss it with John."

"Good. Well, other than those protrusions, your baby looks to be doing well," the Doctor said in an upbeat tone. She put the probe back on the stand and pulled off her exam gloves. "By seeing her development, I'd say you are far ahead of schedule. I expect her birth in three months, if not a little before. I'd like to see you again in three weeks."

.

John was sprawled back on the couch, schoolbooks open on the coffee table as he rubbed his eyes. He was getting thought physics, but it wasn't easy. The couch bounced, and he found Cameron plopping down in his lap, beaming him a smile.

"It's a girl," Cameron announced happily.

"Really? Good news, now we can name her," John said, returning her smile as he took her in his arms.

Cameron's face faded to a more serious look. "John, I have a name for her."

John studied Cameron's face. He had an idea of what she wanted to name their baby girl. Ever since the 'Allison from Palmdale' indecent, he'd learned the name of the human used to make Cameron's appearance. Although Cameron never said it, he was sure that girl had died. He was also sure that Cameron felt bad about it. "All right, so what's her name?"

Cameron paused, then said, "Allison Kaeda Connor."

"Kaeda?" John asked, confused about that part.

"Yes, in honor of Lucy, who made it possible for us to have Allison."

John rolled the name across his tongue a few times. "OK, that works. I like it," he agreed. "Allison Kaeda Connor it is. So, how is little Allison coming along?"

"Ahead of schedule by standard human development. Three more months to go," Cameron explained. "Then I can wear normal clothes again."

John chuckled. "And we'll be up every night with newborn feedings," he said with a grin. He then kissed his lovely wife. "I love you, Cam."

"I love you, my husband," Cameron replied, relishing those words.

.

Two months and seventeen days later, Allison Kaeda Connor was born at home with a small audience waiting anxiously to see the new baby girl. Cameron delivered Allison normally, though the tiny horns did do some damage on the way out. Being minor flesh damage, Cameron paid little attention to it. Right after delivery and getting Allison cleaned up and bundled up, Cameron settled into a wheel chair so John could push her with baby Allison in her arms, out to the people who'd gathered for the birth. Cameron didn't need the wheelchair, but enjoyed John tending to her.

Cameron herself was in awe of her baby girl as she gazed upon her. This was their baby, she and John had created a life instead of taking. A light dusting of pink hair adorned Allison's head, as did the pair of silvery triangular horns. Allison opened her eyes to show the same coloring as John's. Although not happy about being born, Allison's cries settled down quickly. She fell asleep in her mother's arms.

John and Cameron let the clinic doctor perform her checks as they watched.

The Doctor from the clinic weighed Allison, and although she looked tiny, Allison tipped the scales at eleven pounds three ounces. She took Allison's footprints and got her vitals. Allison had a human heart and lungs, though a spectrograph analysis showed her horns, and most likely all her bones due to her weight, contained large amounts of metal. A quick flashlight test showed Allison's pupils were mostly normal, though were more reflective than expected. Once the doctor recorded the details, she gave Allison back to the proud mother and left to go register the birth.

Looking on, Catherine Weaver gazed at the newborn with as much fascination as Savannah did. "A true hybrid. Who would have thought it possible," she said.

Mr. Ellison looked at the baby, then her parents, and said, "John, Cameron, congratulations. Please keep in mind this child is unique and will need guidance."

Major and Mrs. Franklin glanced at Mr. Ellison. "That is what parents are for, Mr. Ellison," Karen said with a hint of amusement.

Major Franklin shook John Connor's hand. "Congratulations. Officially, Allison will be recorded as a normal human birth, though it is very apparent she is more than that. This has been a historic day that, well, we won't be able to tell anyone about."

"We can't admit to having a child?" Cameron asked.

"By all means, you can tell anyone you've had a child," Major Franklin said, "You just can't tell anyone what she is. That may put her in danger."

"All right, time for pictures!" Karen Franklin announced. "Allison is soooo precious!"


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4. Allison Kaeda Connor

"Still nothing from Sky Net," Cameron said as she came in the house from her visit to the Weavers.

"Mommy!" four year old Allison cried and ran to greet her mother, her favorite stuffed monkey clenched tight in one hand and her pink hair flying behind her. Little Allison then bounded up to leap into her mother's arms.

Cameron recoiled from the impact and smiled at her daughter as she held her.

"Mommy, Daddy is doing colors and stickies with me," Allison cried happily. "Come do colors and stickies with us!"

"Allison, you don't greet Gramma like that, do you?" Cameron asked.

"Oh no! Gramma is frail, we have to be careful with frail people," Allison said in as firm a voice as a four year old was able. Turning to her father, Allison asked, "Right, Daddy?"

"Right, sweetie," John agreed from his spot on the floor in front of a plastic sheet filled with coloring paper, glue and crayons.

"And no touching people with the hands no one can see! Right Mommy?" Allison announced.

"Right, Allison," Cameron replied. "You could hurt someone really bad if you did that."

John winced and said, "Speaking of that, doors don't do too well either. We need a new kitchen door. Allison opened it a little too hard." He quickly added, "But she is doing better at being gentle."

"With pre-school coming up, that's a good thing," Cameron told him. Allison was highly intelligent and thrived on learning new things. They had decided to send her to pre-school a year early so she could learn more, and give them a break from the constant barge of questions their little girl had about everything. She only hoped pre-school could handle Allison.

"Can I do colors and stickies at school?" Allison asked.

Cameron knelt down to see the numbers John had cut out of the colored paper. "I don't know, Allison, but I am sure there will be fun things to do. You were counting with Daddy today?"

"Yup!" Allison said and hopped down to point at the numbers. "One, two, three, four, five,..."

As Allison counted each number, the number lifted off the floor to hang suspended in the air.

"... six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" Allison proudly announced as the numbers all hung in the air over them.

"Very good," Cameron said and clapped.

"Ahh, sweetie, you can't lift things up like that at school, OK?" John cautioned.

"Why not?" Allison asked innocently.

Struggling to come up with a reason, John said, "Because ... none of the other kids can, and they would feel bad if they knew you can do it and they can't."

"They don't have invisible hands like you do," Cameron told her.

"Oh. That's sad. How do they reach up and get cookies off the top of the refrigerator?" Allison asked.

"They don't," John said. That was one thing they learned quickly. Putting things up out of reach didn't work with Allison. The last time they played 'try to reach this', Allison got the Frisbee of the roof of their two story house while she was standing in the front yard. There was no such thing as 'out of reach' with Allison.

John was very grateful for a couple things. Allison was a well mannered child and she was smart. They would have been in big trouble if she was the average whinny brat. When Allison did make a mistake or did something wrong, all it took was explaining to her what she did, and why she couldn't do that. Allison listened. He couldn't even imagine the chaos if she pulled a temper tantrum. He doubted they'd have a house left.

Cameron played colors and stickies with Allison and John for a while before she got dinner started. Much to Cameron's joy, when Sarah came home, she too played on the floor with her granddaughter. Besides sticking pieces of paper together with glue, Allison graduated to making three dimensional shapes. It was only squares and circles she and John made, but another small step in her education.

.

Allison helped her Daddy put away the colors and stickies before they washed up for dinner. Seeing Sarah get up, Allison ran over to her and held out her hands to her. "Hold my hand, Gramma," Allison said.

Sarah took the child's hand. With a smirk, she said, "I'll walk you to the dinning room, sweetie."

"Be careful not to trip," Allison said seriously.

"I won't hon," Sarah assured her.

"OK, Gramma, because it would be bad if you fell."

Sarah eyed the child. "Why would I fall?" she asked.

"Daddy says you're frail so we have to be careful," Allison said innocently.

"I'm frail, huh?" Sarah growled as she eyed John with daggers.

"We just want Allison to be careful ... with people," John said quickly.

"So, I'm frail?" Sarah asked heavily. She let go of Allison's hand and strode towards John. "Want me to show you frail?"

Backing away, John held his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, Mom, wait. Not in front of Allison!" he cried as he backed around the dinning room table.

"Maybe she needs to see what a frail old woman can do," Sarah growled.

Cameron pulled out a chair behind John and guided his fall into a sit. She eyed Sarah. "Behave." she said crisply. Sarah glowered at Cameron, then plopped down in a seat.

Allison giggled at the sight. "Gramma's funny," she said with a giggle.

"Come on Allison, up in your chair," Cameron told her.

Allison got her booster seat and put it in the chair next to Daddy, then leaped up to sit beside him.

As always, Mommy made them a tasty meal. Allison swung her feet as she chewed happily away. Not everything Mommy made was tasty to her, but she understood that each of them liked something a bit different, and since food was energy for your body, each of them needed a bit different part of the meal.

It was the same with breakfast. Mommy drank the same juice she did, but Gramma needed her black coffee and Daddy needed his lighter brown coffee that had some milk and sugar in it. The light toast was for Daddy and Gramma, the medium toast was for mommy, and she needed the really crunchy black toast that Gramma winced at. Everyone liked the berry pancakes and eggs, but only she liked the 'metal shaker' mix in the big salt shaker to put on her food. It gave her a 'tingly' taste.

After dinner, Allison helped clear the table. Being careful like Mommy told her to, she picked up the plates and set them on the counter top by the sink while she stood in her chair. In catching an errant spoon the tried to fall to the floor with an invisible hand, she bend it. She tried to straighten it out, but it broke.

"Sorry, Mommy," she said in a tiny voice.

"You did well, Allison," Cameron assured her. "It was only one spoon. Soon you will be skilled enough to not drop anything."

Sarah had been watching. It amazed her that her granddaughter could levitate things like that. Cameron was right, one spoon was nothing compared to the stack of plates she crushed in mid air a couple weeks ago.

After dinner was picked up, Allison had her 'tubbie time' and played in the bath with her ducks while Bip had to watch from his place atop the toilet. Bip couldn't take a bath, he got all soggy and drippy, then mommy would have to take him away for a day or two so he could dry out. That make Bip sad, Allison knew, because it made her sad too. So no tubbie time for Bip.

Once tubbie time was over, Mommy helped Allison get dried off and into her PJ's and fuzzy robe. She cuddled up into Daddy's lap so he could read her a story. Sometimes she had Daddy re-read the stories that she liked. She loved the story of the Sneeches and Green Eggs and Ham, Daddy did the voices really good.

Allison liked reading some parts with him. "I do NOT like Green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam-I-am!"

After story time, Daddy carried her up to bed and tucked her in. After Daddy left, Allison used her Hands to make Bip dance and do silly walks. When she got tired, she had Bip climb under the covers with her, and she tucked Bip in for the night, kissing him on the forehead, just like Daddy did with her.

.

The day came when Allison was getting ready for her first day of school. As her Mommy got her dressed in the pink and white shirt and skirt outfit, Mommy put a pink fuzzy hat on her head.

"Allison, what are the rules for going to school?" Cameron asked.

"Don't take my hat off, keep all my hands close to me except for the two everyone can see, run and jump only as fast and far as other kids can ..." Allison stopped and bit her lip. "There's one more, isn't there Mommy?"

"Eyes on full spectrum visual at all times," Cameron stated.

"Right... ahhh, keep my eyes ... normal seeing," Allison concluded.

Cameron nodded. "Normal seeing for humans," she agreed.

.

With the proper instructions verified, Cameron took Allison out and down to the preschool a block outside the community gates. The building looked to be a larger ranch style house with a fenced in play area and colorful animals on the windows.

Allison smiled at all the colors and new things she saw. She held her arm out, touching the wire mesh fence as they walked by, and stopped to be sure Mommy saw the bright yellow ducks lined up along the edge of the walkway. School was going to be a fun place.

At the door, a teacher guided them in to get Allison registered, and had her sit for a picture. Allison beamed a big smile at the camera as her picture was taken.

"This is for safety reasons, in case the unthinkable happens," The teacher told Cameron.

Cameron tipped her head slightly. "Unthinkable?"

"Well, it has never happened here, but children do go missing from kidnappings, mostly parental ones."

"I don't understand. Why would a parent kidnap their own child?" Cameron asked.

"Cases of divorce, family separations, these things happen," the teacher said in a sad tone.

"John was going to pick Allison up. We planned it, he will not be kidnapping Allison," Cameron said firmly.

"We know that, and that's fine."

"And Sarah may have to bring her, or pick her up. Sarah would not kidnap Allison."

"Yes, Mrs. Connor, we have then both on the authorized pick up list. I'm talking about other families not as stable as yours, or strangers," the teacher explained.

Cameron turned to Allison and said, "Allison, if someone you don't know tries to make you go with them, kick them in the shin and run home."

Allison nodded.

"There will be no need for that, we watch the children closely," the teacher assured Cameron.

.

Cameron got a tour of the small school and met the teachers and aides with Allison. Finishing at Allison's classroom, Cameron waved goodbye and left Allison to go in and play with the other children.

Allison had a fun day at school. They sang an alphabet song, listened to a story about a rabbit, had snacks then a 'nap time'. Allison wasn't tired so she lay awake and studied the ceiling. Seeing movement, she noticed a man in the doorway. He was dressed in a dark suit like one of the men who stood around the gate that lead to the road to their house.

The teacher went over to him and whispered to him. Allison adjusted her hearing up.

"Miss Flanders, you have an Allison Connor here?" the man asked.

"Excuse me sir, who are you?" Miss Flanders asked.

The man pulled out a badge and said, "Army Intelligence. Which child is Allison Connor?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to go to the front desk, Sir," Miss Flanders said firmly.

"We just want to be able to identify her."

"Sir, you will have to take the matter up with administration. As you can see, I have a class here." Miss Flanders said firmly.

Allison turned her head towards them, closing her eyes most of the way so they would not notice she was watching them.

"Ma'am, just point her out please."

"Sir, if you don't leave, I am calling the police."

The man looked over the students on the blankets and called out, "Allison Connor?"

Heads popped up to stare at him. Allison got up and faced him. She stayed quiet, eyeing him.

Miss Flanders pulled out her cell phone. The man grabbed it away from her.

"You better go," Allison said in the same flat tone her mother use when she wasn't happy.

The man came into the room, causing other kids to move out of his way. "You are Allison Connor?" he asked.

Allison stayed quiet.

"Miss Flanders, I need to borrow Allison for a short while," the man said.

Allison wondered what she should do, then her mother's words came back to her.

"Come on, let's go," the man said and reached down to grab Allison's hand.

Allison turned and kicked him in the shin as hard as she could. The man's leg flew back, he screamed as he hit the floor. Allison ran out of the room and down the hall. The glass entry doors were shut. Allison ran at them, pushing on with a Hand, meaning to open it. The glass exploded outward. Allison charged through the opening, glass falling to the ground in her wake. She didn't slow down until she got home.

.

The 'gated community' that was normally quiet became a hive of activity. The gate guard was doubled and the perimeter was ringed with men carrying automatic weapons. The man with the broken leg was taken into the health center instead of a hospital. There, more attention was paid to who he was, than his injury.

Outside the room where the man lay strapped down to a stretcher and had a guard with an M-16 standing over him, Major Franklin stood with John, Cameron, Mrs. Weaver, and a pair of Army Captains.

Major Franklin held up the fake badge the man had. "He's not one of ours, which means he's a spy working for someone else," he stated.

"I will interrogate him," Cameron said. She went in followed by Major Franklin and one of the Captains.

Seeing them behind her, Cameron said, "It will be more effective if I speak to him alone."

Major Franklin considered it, then waved the guard and the other Captain out. "We need to know who he is and who he works for," he stated firmly.

"I will get that and more," Cameron promised.

.

Initially, the man would say nothing. Cameron started low, breaking toes, then his other shin. By the time she got to his knees, he tried telling her a story. Slowly twisting one arm closer and closer to the breaking point got out his real name. Simon Levy. Releasing it and reapplying pressure, she got him to admit he'd come to see the 'cyborg' child. Straining the arm far enough to tear some ligaments got out more answers. At first, he was an Israeli spy. A few broken fingers and pulling his shoulder from the socket got out he worked for a gangster. He was to kidnap the child and take her home. A bit more abuse to his other arm and he admitted they did not care if she was alive or not when he returned with her.

Cameron let him rest for while so he wouldn't pass out. Once that danger was past, she kept at him. He'd yet to admit what she wanted to hear.

Sobbing, Simon said, "Please, I've told you everything! Just kill me!"

"You are still not being honest with me," Cameron said, staring at him. "Who sent you on this assignment?"

"I told you! Prime Minister ...AAAHHHH!" he ended in a scream as Cameron yanked and twisted his broken fingers.

"You are hiding something. You better tell me, I can keep this up for weeks. 91 percent of your body has yet to have active pain sensors," Cameron said flatly.

"This is inhuman! Torture is against the law ... AHHHH!"

Cameron let the broken wrist drop. Speaking in her flat tone, she said,"You are right. I am not human. You tried to take my daughter. You will now be honest, or die very slowly and extremely painfully."

"Please stop," the man wailed, and burst out crying.

"Why do you resist when you know I will make you suffer more?" Cameron asked. She let him cry for a moment, then put pressure down on his right hip. "This is the next to go," she intoned.

"STOP!" he wailed. "They will kill me if I tell!"

"I will do worse if you don't."

"ALL RIGHT, All right! I'm from just outside Boston. I worked for the mob boss there. He got the contract, he sent me here. Look, I don't know anything else except for a description of what the girl looks like and where to find her. The boss has all that."

"Who's your boss?"

"Gino, that's all I know him by. Big house, I got the address," the man cried. He was quivering and twitching in pain. He rattled off the address.

Cameron watched him with a blank stare. She waited until he asked if she believed him, then said, "You are a liar. If you lied to me about this boss, everything I've done so far will seem like foreplay when I come back." She walked out and left him alone.

.

Major Franklin had the address checked out. It was owned by a suspected mobster who dealt in many rackets, and was not above kidnapping little girls. With the sensitive nature of the attempt as well as how fast Simon had arrived to try and take Allison, the Army wasn't taking any chances.

It wasn't a police raid on the large, walled house in the suburbs of Boston, but a full blown attack by Army Rangers with helicopters and machine guns at one AM. The guards didn't even try to shoot back, they dropped their weapons and surrendered. Moving swiftly inside, the Rangers arrested everyone and grabbed up every document and computer they could find.

Coming up with ties to several terrorist attacks planned at this location got NSA permission to treat 'Gino' and his gang as terrorists. Straight to a secure facility, no lawyers, no judge, no legal recourse to plead their innocence or make a deal.

Cameron and Catherine Weaver were waiting for them.

The first thing Weaver did was go over every electronic device to search for a Sky Net presence. The only thing she found were a few communications that gave the location of Allison, her description and the pre-payment for the contract. She also got the location of where the 'body' was to be brought to.

Cameron took the other route, thrashing several 'tough guys' before moving into the cell with Gino to confront him. By this time, seeing his hired muscle turned into limp, bleeding bodies by a thin girl, he was more than eager to tell her anything she wanted to know. The only extra information Cameron got from him was a phone call he'd gotten from 'Mr. X', and a number to call when the job was done.

It was time to go to deliver the goods.


	5. Chapter 5

CH 5. Scary Allison

John sat on the couch, Allison in his lap as she looked though a kaleidescope. Turning the tube and giggling at the colors she saw within, she paused and asked, "Daddy, when is Mommy coming home?"

John told her he truth, as well as she could understand it. "Mommy is looking for bad guys, sweetie. She will be home as soon as she can."

"I hope it's soon," Allison mussed. "Gramma's pancakes suck."

"Allison!" John chided. "Where did you here that?"

Casting him an innocent face, Allison said, "That's what Mommy said. Mommy wouldn't lie, would she?"

"No, your mommy doesn't lie," John said with a smirk. "Just don't say that to Gramma, OK?"

"OK," the four year old agreed. "Can you make breakfast, Daddy?"

"I'm afraid my pancakes would suck worse than Gramma's," he said with a huff.

"What was that?" Sarah asked as she came in.

John snapped his head to her. "Umm, I just said I'm not good at cooking," he offered.

Allison giggled and turned the tube on her kaleidescope.

"John, watch your language around Allison. Children are very impressionable," Sarah warned.

"Yes, Mom."

Allison held out her kaleidescope to Sarah. "Gramma, look in here! There's all kinds of pretty colors, and they change when you turn the tube like this!"

Sarah took it and looked. "I see! This is really cool, isn't it?" Smiling at Allison, Sarah added, "And you are a very smart little girl. It's hard to believe you speak so well at your age. That is very good."

Beaming with pride, Allison said, "Mommy and Daddy are proud of me, right, Daddy?"

"That we are," John agreed.

Sarah studied her grandchild. Allison was a happy child, and was acting more like a six year old that her true age of four. Everything about Allison was amazing, from how she was born to how fast the girl grasped concepts and never seemed to forget anything. Maybe it was the 'terminator' part of her. Allison didn't have a chip, but her brain was obviously wired a bit different that a normal person. Between that and the more obvious physical differences, Sarah knew Allison was going to be a force to be reckoned with when she grew up.

.

Delivery of the job turned out to be a bust. A soldier dressed as one of Gino's goons drove to the place in Nevada where Allison was to be delivered. Although he went to the rendezvous point alone, three snipers, Cameron, Mrs. Weaver and a satellite watched him closely. The soldier got out of the car and waited.

Nothing came.

The soldier waited a full day, along with anxious people monitoring him. Cameron suspected Sky Net somehow knew it was a trap, and didn't show. By the remote location, and the hills in the distance, it was all but a given Sky Net was behind the attempted abduction. Cameron had called 'Mr. X' to confirm delivery. After the no show, that phone number no longer worked. They had made a mistake somehow, and Sky Net had retreated back into it's hole.

Damn.

Cameron got home early in the evening. Seeing her, Allison raced over and jumped up into her arms. "Hi Mommy!" Alison said happily. "Welcome home. Now you can make us pancakes that don't suck."

Sarah glared at John.

John greeted Cameron with a hug and a kiss. "How'd it go?"

"We were discovered. Sky Net didn't show up."

"So, it's still out there," John said grimly. "Don't worry, we'll find it."

Cameron hoped they did, before Sky Net found them.

.

John and Cameron sat in the waiting room at the health clinic waiting for Allison. Inside, Allison was being given a battery of IQ tests to determine her 'mental age'. The pre-school teachers had been working with Allison after Allison had begun asking mathematical questions. Although she still used her fingers or some other visual aid, Allison was performing adding and subtracting, knew her alphabet and was spelling common words. Her retention of what she was taught was one hundred percent, something never seen before in such a young child. The teachers were blown away and coaxed John to have an IQ test done.

The professor giving the tests came out and took a seat opposite the Connors. "I'm professor Goldman," he said as he sat. "John and Cameron, your daughter Allison is ... off the IQ chart for her age. I am being conservative when I say she rates very superior in the tests we have. Mentally, she is on par with six or maybe seven year olds. It's hard to believe she's only four."

"Four years, eight months, three days," Cameron said, correcting him.

Professor Goldman looked at Cameron and chuckled. "Yes, of course. I see where she gets her preciseness from," he said, nodding to her. "I do have a few questions for you. Does Allison have a sick grandmother? She seems worried about her being frail."

John let out huff. "No, professor, Mom isn't sick. We have been teaching Allison to be careful around Mom. Allison is ... strong for her age and we want to avoid accidents."

"Yes, I've seen that also. Her muscular coordination is also very advanced," Goldman agreed. "Another thing I noticed is Allison is very attached to her hat. She refused to take it off. Do either of you wear hats, say at work?"

"Children have comfort items that keep in their possession," Cameron told him. "Allison's is her hat and Bip, her stuffed monkey."

"I was only asking because hats are not a usual comfort item," the professor said with a shrug. "Then again, Allison is not a usual girl. Have either of you considered a special school for Allison? By her scores and talking to her, I feel she will soon become bored in a normal school. Bored children tend to be mischievous and get into trouble."

"Do you have a school in mind?" John asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Goldman said and pulled a note pad from his pocket. "Dietrich Academy is a school for special children like Allison. They teach the standard school curriculum, but guide the students into learning at their own pace. Besides the standard curriculum, they also provide advanced studies in several areas."

"Where is this school," John asked.

"In Palmdale. It would require you move, but I feel it would be a great benefit to Allison."

John and Cameron looked at each other. Even though neither spoke, they both shared the same thought. Allison from Palmdale.

"I understand this is a big decision, but please, think about it. I would be happy to write a recommendation," Goldman told them.

"Ahh, yes, thank you," John offered. "We will consider it."

Allison came out with Nurse Jane. Running up to her parents, Allison beamed them a smile and said, "Mommy, Daddy, I did really good on my tests!" She bounced up into Cameron's lap.

"Good for you, sweetie!" John praised.

"Very good, Allison," Cameron told her. Looking at the happy child in her arms, Cameron wondered if going to Palmdale would be a problem. Judgment day was knocked back to some time in the future, but the danger was still there. The original Allison was also still living in Palmdale.

"Thank you, professor," John said, extending his hand.

Professor Goldman shook it. "You are very welcome Mr. Connor. I wish you all the best of luck, and here's my number if you decide you'd like my recommendation."

.

Allison awoke in the middle of the night to a strange feeling. Sitting up in her bed, she felt like something was close. No, not something, someone. It was as if she knew right where they were, standing in the back yard. Grabbing Bip, she got up and went over to the window.

Standing in the dark was a woman with long, light colored hair. Due to the darkness, she could not identify the color. Concentrating, Allison shifted her sight and drew in more light, making the dark back yard seem as bright as a cloudy day. The woman's hair was pink like hers, and her eyes were red. She also bore the same nubs Allison had on her head, only hers were white.

Intrigued by the woman, Allison left her room and went out the back door to meet her. Her mother beat her to it, going out to meet the woman. Allison quietly followed her mother. Becoming nervous, she ran up and held her mother's hand.

"Who is that lady, Mommy?" Allison asked meekly. "She feels ... strong."

"Hello, Lucy," Cameron said. Glancing at Allison, she added, "This is Allison Kaeda Connor."

Lucy cracked a grin Allison didn't think looked very friendly. "A pleasure to meet you, Allison. You are growing well, I see."

"Allison is doing very well. Why did you come?" Cameron asked in a flat tone.

Lucy noted Cameron's defensive posture. "I did not come to interfere. It should be about time for Allison to start school. I came to offer a place for her at Witch Hill. I believe she would do better there, than at a human school," she offered.

"We are moving to Palmdale soon, Allison had been enrolled in a school for the gifted. She is very intelligent," Cameron supplied.

Lucy nodded. "Good. She has your intelligence as well as your skeletal structure I see."

"Yes, and John's eyes."

"Hey Lady, who are you?" Allison asked as she stared up at Lucy.

"Lucy Kikumura, a friend," Lucy told her. Shifting her attention to Cameron, Lucy said, "Call if you need me." Lucy then turned, took a step and vanished.

"Mommy, did you see that?" Allison cried. "She just ... went away!"

"She does that," Cameron deadpanned. "Come on, back to bed, you need your full night's rest."

On their way back in, Allison felt her head. "Hey Mommy, that Lucy lady has nubs like mine, but hers are white. She has my hair color too. Why?"

Cameron explained that in order to have Allison, Lucy had given a piece of herself called DNA to her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to have children. Instead of being satisfied with this answer, Allison came up with more questions. Since Lucy had done that, was Lucy her mommy too? Where did Lucy live and why didn't she live with them. Why did she get such a strange feeling and knew right were Lucy was in the back yard.

Cameron was patient answering as many of her child's questions as possible. She firmly told Allison that Lucy was not another mother. Explaining it like a transplant, Cameron told her that the DNA Lucy had given her was a gift. Allison was so full of questions, Cameron saw the child wasn't going to get any sleep. Cameron stayed in Allison's room and told her everything she knew about Lucy. By morning, Cameron was sure her child's curiosity was satisfied.

Making breakfast, Cameron let Allison help by making the toast. When John came down, Allison pipped up with, "Daddy! I got two mommies!", which caused Cameron's left hand to twitch.

"What?" John asked.

Bouncing with excitement, Allison said in a run, "Yeah, Daddy, last night Lucy came. I knew she was there, she's really strong! And when she left, she didn't walk away, she just went away! Will I be able to do that too?"

"Allison, you don't have two mothers. I explained that," Cameron said flatly.

"But I do, Mommy!" Allison countered. "Even though Lucy gave you that DNA, it was her DNA, so part of me is her just like part of me is you and Daddy. That's why I have my nubs, isn't it?"

"Ahh, sweetie?" John asked, noting Cameron was upset by Allison's statement. He sat down and motioned Allison up onto his lap. He winced when Allison bounced up in place. "Lucy is what we call a doner. She donated her DNA so Mommy could have you. Yes, you do have Lucy's ... nubs and hair color, but Lucy is not your mother. You only have one mother."

Allison tipped her head at John in a very Cameron like way. "That is confusing, Daddy."

"Your mother and I are here taking care of you every day, right? We are your parents. Lucy came by to see if we need any help because she is a friend, but she doesn't live with us. That is because Lucy has her own life and her own children. She helped Mommy have you, but she is not your mother. Understand?"John explained.

Allison put a finger to her lips in thought. "Kinda," she mussed. "But why did I feel her so strongly? I knew where she was and what she looked like before I even got up to see her with my eyes."

"I don't know sweetie. You can see things in the dark, right?" John asked.

"Yeah, Daddy, but it wasn't like that," Allison said, trying to get John to understand. "At first, I didn't see her at all. I was in bed, but I knew she was there. After I got up I did see her, right where I knew she was."

"So, you saw her in your mind?"

Allison frowned then brightened up, "Yeah Daddy, I saw her in my mind!"

"You are very talented, Allison," Cameron said as she brought over John and Allison's plates. Looking at Allison, she asked, "Do you want to stay home from school today? You were up all night."

Allison paused in a little girl frown. "Naw, I'm OK, Mommy. Seeing Lucy got me excited is all." Allison was happy that she met Lucy. She had always wondered why she was different that Mommy or Daddy. Now she knew the answer to questions she'd had. She had Daddy's smart brain, Mommy's strength, and Lucy's invisible hands.

"Lucy is very unusual," John agreed. "And you are very special, sweetie," he said with a smile at Allison.

Allison beamed him a proud smile.

"John, I have to go to the Weaver's early today," Cameron told him.

"No problem, hon. I'll take Allison to school on my way out."

.

Allison liked it when Daddy took her to school. Riding on his shoulders, Allison felt like she was on top of the world. She had to remind Daddy to duck going through the doors. Although whacking her head on the door frame didn't hurt that much, it knocked her off Daddy's shoulders. Daddy was funny when he apologized for doing that, but she could see he really felt bad about it.

Giving her Daddy a hug goodbye, Allison went into the classroom and took her spot on the mat. She noticed the walls were decorated with pumpkins, black silhouettes of ladies on brooms, skeletons and white sheets with black eyes.

The boy, Pete, next to her said, "I like monsties." as she looked at the walls.

"What are monsties?" Allison asked.

"You know, monsties!" he said brightly.

"Good morning children," Miss Flanders said as she came in. Clapping her hands she said, "Tomorrow is Halloween, does everyone know what that is?"

Some kids did. Allison had no idea. "Miss Flanders, what's Halloween?" she asked.

"We dress up like monsties and get candy!" Pete said happily.

"Our favorite monsties!" another girl said with glee.

"But, what are monsties?" Allison asked.

"Scary things like witches and ghosts and vampires!" another boy said, wide eyed.

"Allison, monsters are supernatural creatures that only come out on Halloween," Miss Flanders told her. "There are all kinds of monsters. Even devils with horns and invisible ghosts."

"Ally, you've never seen a monstie?" Pete asked. "I got one in my closet!"

Allison thought for a moment, then asked, "Do monsties suddenly appear in the back yard?"

"They can!" Pete said.

"Then I saw one in my back yard," Allison announced.

"Really, what did you see?" Miss Flanders asked.

"She was really cool!" Allison said excitedly. "She had pink hair like mine, and nubs too, like that picture over there," she said, pointing to a devil. "but not as long. And she felt really strong! I knew she was there even before I got out of bed. I went over to the window and looked at her. I went down to see her, but Mommy went outside first..."

"You went out to see a monstie?" Pete asked, wide eyed.

"Weren't you scared?" a girl asked, hugging her stuffed bear tight to her.

"Oh no! You see, Mommy knows her. Lucy, that's her name, gave Mommy the ability to have babies. Lucy had come to see if I wanted to go to a school called Witch Hill, then she left. She didn't walk away she just ... went away. She was there, then she wasn't," Allison explained as Miss Flanders eyed her.

"The monster wanted you to go to a Witch school?" a wide eyed girl asked.

"She disappeared?" Pete asked.

Allison nodded. "Yeah, she was there, then she wasn't. Mommy said I have her DNA in me too."

All the kids were now staring at Allison.

"Allison, that was a very inventive story," Miss Flanders said with a smirk.

"No story, I was awake. Lucy woke me up when I felt her in the back yard."

"So, you're a monstie too!" Pete exclaimed, pointing at her.

Allison shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Ohh, do something monsterish!" a boy called out.

"Huh? Like what?" Allison asked.

Pete pointed to the ceiling. "Can you fly?"

"Pete, stop that, of course she can't fly," Miss Flanders said firmly.

Something about the way Miss Flanders said it, irritated Allison. She got up and said, "I never tried, guess I could try."

"If you're a witch, you need a broom!" a girl cried and ran to the closet to get out a short handled broom they used to help clean up. She retrieved it and ran over to Allison. Handing it over, she said, "You're suppose to sit on it."

"Yeah, let's see if you can fly!" another boy coaxed. The class got up and grouped around Allison.

With all the excitement, Allison puzzled on how to do it, then said, "OK, I think I know how."

She planted two invisible Hands on the floor and positioned the broom beside her. It felt kind of tippy, so she steadied herself with two more Hands and hopped onto the broom that was hanging in the air.

"Oh my GOD!" Miss Flanders gasped as the kids all cheered.

Allison extended her Hands out, making herself and the broom rise to hover above their heads. With all the other kids around her, she didn't dare move forward or backward, afraid she might touch someone with her Hands. She settled back down and got off the broom.

"Do something else!" Pete cried.

"Yeah, can you do magic, like lift other things?"

Enjoying being the center of attention, Allison looked at the toy box. Pointing to it she said, "Toys, fly!"

One by one toy cars, a few pots and a couple stuffed animals lifted up as Allison held them in her Hands. She brought them over her head and made them move in a ring around her as her classmates cheered and laughed.

"Good God," Miss Flanders whispered as she gapped at the sight.

"Yipppeee! Allison is a real monstie!" Pete cried.

After a few circles around her with the group gazing up at the flying toys in awe, Allison returned the toys to the toy box.

"Do it again! Do it again!" came cries from all around Allison.

Getting a hold of herself, Miss Flanders tried to regain control over her class.

.

John got out of work early to pick Allison up from school. Walking into the school, he let the receptionist know he was there and signed in. Going to the classroom, he found the kids coloring. He waved from just outside the doorway to get Miss Flanders attention. He noted the woman looked a bit pale. Getting up from her desk, she quickly came over to the doorway.

"Mr. Connor, your daughter is ... very unusual," she said. "I had always thought she was a little strange, but today was ... wow. I don't even know if you'll believe me."

"Why's that?" John asked, fearing what Allison may have done.

"We were talking about Halloween and well, Allison proved she was a monster," Miss Flanders stated.

"Oh no," John said with a huff. Looking over at Allison, tongue out as she intently colored her picture, he asked, "What'd she do?"

"She flew on a broom. I mean up off the ground, nothing supporting her! She then made all the toys fly around her. Did you know she can do that?" Miss Flanders asked, wide eyed.

"Damn it," John grumbled softly. He rubbed his head and asked, "Anyone hurt?"

"No, the children all thought it was a novelty. Mr. Connor, how can she do that?" Mis Flanders asked in a stressed tone.

John shrugged and said, "Not sure myself. Allison is good at ... manipulating things. We discourage her from doing that to keep people from freaking out. She practices at home, but she's not suppose to do that where anyone can see her."

"May I ask who this Lucy is?"

"She told you about that too, huh?" John asked unhappily.

Mis Flanders nodded. "Mr. Connor, the children took seeing what she could do well, but this may cause problems for Allison."

"I know," John said quickly. "I'll talk to her, OK? And please let me know if she does that again."

Miss Flanders nodded. Seeing another couple coming, she called, "Allison, your father is here."

"Hi Daddy!" Allison called with a wave. Scrambling up, she put away her coloring book and crayons and ran to meet him. "Today was really fun!" she beamed.

John offered her a brief smile. "We have to talk about your fun, come on, sweetie."

"Bye Miss Flanders, bye everyone!"

A chorus of "Bye Allison!" came from the class room.

John held Allison's hand as she skipped along beside him on the way home. Trying to figure out how to start, John asked, "Allison, hon, do you remember that man who came into your class room and tried to grab you?"

"Yeah, he was a bad man!" Allison stated with a turned down lip.

"He was," John agreed. "And bad men can be very greedy. If bad men find out you can do things with your invisible hands, they might come after you, or Mommy."

"I'll kick them in the shin again just like Mommy told me to!" Allison stated.

John couldn't help but chuckle at the way she said it. She had kicked that man, and broke his leg. "Still, sweetie, that may not be enough," John said seriously. "Sweetie, you can't use your invisible Hands at school, or any place besides home to keep bad men from finding out about them. There are people who would become very mean if they knew, so let's make sure they don't, OK? I don't want to see you hurt."

Allison let out a whine and said, "But, it was fun Daddy! Everyone liked seeing me make the toys fly."

"I know dear, and it doesn't seem fair, but you can't be doing that st school. Promise me."

Allison let out a huff and kicked a stone. "OK, Daddy, promise," she grumbled.

"I know it's hard, sweetie, but you have to do this for me." John said and petted the back of her hair.

Casting him a sideways look, Allison asked, "Can I still use my Hands at home?"

"Yes, sweetie, just not where anyone else can see you," John assured her.

.

John and Cameron took Allison out on Halloween night. John decided on camo face paint and clothes. Cameron went in her purple jacket, black T-shirt, jeans and boots. Allison was dressed in a witches' costume, with a black dress, cape, pointed hat and a straw broom. On their way out, they met John Henry and Savannah.

Savannah was dressed up as a Disney princess in a full white gown and tiara. John Henry wore a brown furry costume.

"Hello John, Cameron, Allison," John Henry said pleasantly. "Guess what we are."

"Beauty and the Beast?' John guessed.

John Henry nodded. "Yes, how did you guess so fast?"

"I like that movie!" Allison chimed.

Savannah, now eleven, said, "You're a witch, right Allison?"

"Yup!" she nodded happily.

"Um, Mr. Connor is a soldier," Savannah said, "But, what are you, Mrs. Connor?"

"I'm a scary robot," Cameron said flatly.

"You're not scary, mommy," Allison said with a giggle.

John Henry tipped his head to the side and asked, "Are those appropriate costumes? I thought you were suppose to dress up as something you're not."

"Aww, come on, John Henry,"Savannah complained, "Allison looks really cute like that. I think it's a great costume." Savannah held her hand out to Allison. "Come on, let's go trick or treat."

"Come on Daddy and Mommy!'" Allison said, taking Savannah's hand.

"Stay close," John warned as they set off.

The first few houses they visited, Savannah and Allison went up called 'Trick or Treat', and got a bit of candy. Seeing how well the girls reacted together, John noted, "Savannah does seem like Allison's older sister."

"They do," John Henry agreed. "Possibly it's because their mothers are similar. Mrs. Weaver told Savannah what she was. They talked for a while, and Savannah appears to have accepted it."

"I'm surprised Catherine admitted to it," John Connor told him.

"I don't believe she had a choice. Savannah heard men talking and asked her about it," John Henry explained. "Savannah did get upset at first, but she already knew what I was, and we talked. I told her Cameron was a machine too. She asked me how Cameron could have a child. I wasn't sure, but told her if the asked one of you, you could explain it."

.

Walking along just ahead of the adults, Savannah note a skip in Allison's walk. Despite knowing what Cameron was, Allison didn't seem like a machine. She finally got up the nerve to ask. "Allison, you're not like your mother, are you?"

Allison glanced at her and said, "Not really. I'm a mix, some from each of my parents. That's what children are, right?"

"I suppose so. Do you have a chip in your head, or like a normal brain?"

"No chip! Mommy says I have Daddy's brain, that's why I'm so smart," Allison beamed. "I do have Mommy's bones, and I guess they are stronger than normal bones."

Savannah nodded. "OK, then so you are part human," she concluded.

"Who's your Mommy and Daddy?" Allison asked.

Savannah looked down with a frown. "My parents died. Catherine took my mother's place to take care of me. She's a machine too."

"That's sad," Allison said. "I mean it's good Catherine takes care of you, but it's sad your parents died."

Savannah looked up and said, "Here's the next house."

This house was all decked out for Halloween with grave stones in the yard, a skeleton hanging from the porch and a cloaked man sitting on the porch with eerie purple lights behind him. He raised his hand as they approached.

"Ah, a young princess and a witch!" he intoned. "What do you seek?"

Taken back a bit by the man, Savannah paused.

"Trick or treat!" Allison announced happily.

"Ahh, yes! Treats or tricks. Do you have a trick, young Witch?"

Allison shifted in place and said, "Uh huh, but Daddy said not to."

"I see. Tricks and treats go together!" the man announced. "This is the night of magic! Please, young Witch, of your tricks you have, show me one!"

"Allison," John said in a smooth warning tone from the sidewalk.

Holding up her broom, Allison announced, "I can spin my broom." She looked back, and John gave her a nod.

The man waved to her. "By all means, let's see your trick."

Allison threw her broom up and quickly spun it with a Hand, then caught it. "See?" she asked.

"Very good!" the man said, and clapped. "Please, proceed with your treats," he added, holding out a bowl of candy to them.

Allison got her candy, as did Savannah, both thanking the man.

"Have a good night, princess, and young Witch," the man told them. To John and Cameron, he called, "Your daughter has very good coordination for her age!"

Other houses were fun like that one was. Allison had a good time going to houses with Savannah with her parents right behind them. She lost track of time, and where she was.

"Ally!" a boy across the street called and waved frantically at her. Allison saw him. At first she didn't know who he was in the Spiderman costume, but she did recognize his voice.

"Hi Pete!" She called back.

Pete ran towards her as his parents were involved in a conversation. Allison moved towards him. She then saw a car coming from the side, fast. Pete ran out into the road. Allison shot for the street, grabbing parked cars with her Hands to sling herself forward. Heart in her throat, she raced to get Pete before the car hit him.

Flinging herself out into the road to hold onto Pete, she had run out of time, the car bore down on them. Pete and Allison holding him, stared in fright at the oncoming car.

**CRASH**

The front end of the car exploded in bits of metal and glass as it came to a sudden stop. Cameron had seen what was going to happen, but was took late to stop it. She was still vaulting over a parked car as the impact sounded.

People screamed, a crowd gathered.

In front of the car, Allison and Pete hugged, crying and lit by the single headlight left on the car. The destroyed car sat a few feet away, the front end looking like it had rammed a wall. Four huge hand prints had reshaped the hood and grill, crushing into the engine compartment.

"Allison!" Cameron screamed in fear as she appeared beside them.

Pete wailed in terror and ran back to his frantic parents. Allison just stood staring at the car as Cameron joined her and drew her into a hug.

Flowing down with the rest of the crowd, John saw Allison and the boy were unhurt. The car was demolished. He also noted everyone was staring at the car that had missed the children. It bore huge hand prints sunk deep into the metal.

Allison looked up at Cameron, teary eyed. "I'm sorry, Mommy! I didn't know what else to do!" she cried.

Cameron let Allison bury her head in her chest and cry. Holding her child, she studied the massive damage to the car. Allison was more powerful than they realized.

"Allison? Are you all right?" John asked as he knelt beside his family.

Allison then dove into him, hugging him. "Daddy, I'm sorry!" she cried into his chest.

"It's all right," John reassured her. He looked at the hand prints. John and Cameron then looked at each other.

"We have to leave," Cameron said firmly.

John scooped up Allison in his arms. As they left, John Henry and Savannah followed. Having seen the whole thing, Savannah eyed the girl in John Connor's arms. That car had not hit Allison, it had rammed an invisible wall just a few feet in front of her.

"John Henry, did you see what happened? What is Allison?" Savannah asked.

"Yes, I did see. I believe Allison is a yokai," John Henry explained, then looked at her as he added, "Humans would call her a monster."


	6. Chapter 6

CH 6. Sniff, sniff, sniff, go reporters.

The next Monday going to school, Allison noted she and her Mommy were getting strange looks from other parents. A pair of mothers who were about to go inside, stepped aside of the doors and let them go first. Tommy took a step to walk up to her and his mother held him back. No one got near them.

Inside, Cameron said goodbye to Allison. Allison took her place on the mat. Only half the class was there. Cameron left at a stiff walk, ignoring the wary looks from others. Cameron also noted their heart rates and breathing were up. Seeing a few women talking and eyeing her suspiciously, she began to wonder if Allison would be safe in school.

.

Pete came on the classroom with his mother. Allison waved to him and noticed his mother came over with him.

"Pete," his mother said firmly.

Looking embarrassed, Pete looked down and said, "Thank you for saving me, Ally. I did something dumb."

"It's Ok, Pete," Allison said, happy someone was still talking to her.

"Allison, is your mother still here?" the woman asked.

"Mommy left already, but she'll be back to get me after school," Allison told her.

"I want to thank you for saving Pete's life. I don't care how you did it, I am grateful you did. Have a good day, dear."

Allison smiled back at Pete's mother. When she left, Miss Flanders got their morning class started.

Allison made sure she behaved herself. When they played duck-duck-goose, she only ran and moved as fast as the other children. She sang and played and had a nice day at school. When they were getting ready for their parents to come get them, Allison played 'tea party' with Jenny and Gabby at a small round table. Gabby was a bit clumsy, which made Allison laugh.

"Jenny, your mother's here," Miss Flanders called.

"Bye, Jenny," Allison and Gabby said, waving as Jenny left.

At the door, Jenny's mother grabbed her and and led her out scolding her. "I don't want you playing with that freak!"

The words weren't loud, but Allison heard them. Allison gapped at the doorway. Miss Flanders pretended not to hear.

"Ally, you cup is empty," Gabby said and pretended to refill her cup and knocked it over. "Ohhh!"

For some reason, Allison didn't feel like playing any more. Seeing the look on Allison's face, Gabby's face scrunched up into a whine. "I'm sorry, Ally."

"It's OK," Allison said, and righted her cup. "Hey, Gabby, do you think I'm a freak?"

"No, you're Ally," she said.

Gabby's mother was next. Allison said bye to Gabby, and noted Gabby's mother informed Miss Flanders they would be changing schools. Miss Flanders asked why.

Gabby's mother glanced at Allison and said, "I don't feel my daughter is safe here," she said, and left.

Sitting alone now, Allison stared at the little plastic table, doing her best to ignore other parents who came in. She blocked her ears to conversations parents had as they picked up their children. She couldn't hep but notice a couple mothers looked at her as if tasting something bad.

"Allison... Allison, your mother is here," Miss Flanders called.

Seeing her Mommy, Allison bolted up and ran to her. Not thinking, she vaulted up into her mother's arms and wrapped her arms around her neck.

Cameron held her child. Although Allison wasn't crying, she seemed upset. Miss Flanders tried to hide it, but Cameron could see she was upset also. "What's going on?" she asked heavily.

Miss Flanders played with her hands and said, "Some of the parents ... well, they are afraid of Allison."

Casting Miss Flanders her blank-robot stare, Cameron said in her flat tone, "Allison is not the one they should fear." She then marched out, holding her child.

"Why, Mommy?"Allison asked in a sniffle. "Why do they say things like that about me?"

Cameron had walked out the front door to see three other sets of parents on their way in. They moved aside. Cameron figured now was the best time to answer Allison. In a clear voice, Cameron announced, "Allison, humans fear what they don't understand. You are different and you are better than they are. Remember that."

The group gapped at Cameron as she strode away. One of the men outside wearing a lanyard with his press ID on outside his light sweater it snapped a picture. He followed at a discrete distance.

.

Greg Hanson followed the woman holding her child. The woman he knew of as Mrs. Connor, walked into a gated community. The guard and the men hanging around the gate greeted her and opened the gate for her. She put her pink haired child down inside, who also greeted the men and thanked one of the men for the chocolate he gave her.

Greg watched until they had gone up the street around a curve out of sight. He was hoping to see which house was theirs. No luck, he'd just have to follow them. He walked up to the gate and waved to the guard.

"Hello, I came to see Connors," Greg said with a smile.

"Your pass?" the guard asked and held his hand out.

Greg's smile weakened. "I don't have a pass. Mr. Connor didn't say I needed one."

"Be on your way then." the guard said crisply.

"Perhaps you could call him for me?" Greg asked.

"Be on your way," the guard said firmly.

Greg could see the other men hanging around were eyeing him and moving to the sides. They obviously didn't want him here. "Maybe if I could ask you a few questions?" Greg asked, holding up his press ID.

"Hey fella, do you know what 'be on your way' means?" one of the muscular men asked as he came out of the gate.

Greg backed up, and another man came out. He held up his hands. "Hey guys, I don't want any trouble, I just wanted to ask if you knew about that car accident Halloween night. You know, the one where that car hit nothing, and no one seen anything?"

"We know nothing about it," Mr. Muscle said as he walked slowly towards Greg, backing him up.

"It was on the news. Rumor has it that car hit a little girl, the car was wrecked but she walked away. Come on, car versus girl, and the girl wins?"

"Keep moving," Mr. Muscle replied.

"Hey, this is a public sidewalk," Greg retorted as he backed up. "I have every right to be here!"

"Keep moving," Mr. Muscle said, and tapped him on the shoulder.

Greg stumbled back. He pulled a can of mace.

Mr. Muscle pulled a machine pistol from his loose fitting shirt. "Drop it," Mr. Muscle intoned.

Gregs' mace was yanked out of his hand by Mr. Muscles' brother. He was shoved back again as the machine pistol disappeared.

"OK, OK!" Greg cried and ran back a few steps. "What are you guys, mafia or something?"

"Keep moving."

"Yeah, OK, keep moving, right," Greg agreed. He walked down to the next block.

Making his way back to his car, Greg got in and called his office. "Hey Charlie, did you get a picture of that car?"

"Can't find it, I've looked in every tow yard, Greg. It's gone. What did you find out?"

"Well, I saw Mrs. Connor. She looks pretty hot for having a young kid. Kid's hair is pink too. She lives in a gated community with gorillas guarding the gates. They're packin. Something is up, Charlie, I can feel it. Overhead a couple parents at the preschool, according to them, that girl is a witch."

A laugh sounded. "Yeah, OK, Greg. I guess that angle will sell papers just as well as the UFO angle. We still need a source to make the story. Any of those parents talking?"

"Not yet. I asked a couple questions and they clammed right up. Almost like they were afraid to say anything. I'll hit the bars the next few nights. Maybe buying a few drinks will loosen some tongues."

.

Allison wandered out back where Gramma was doing her exercises. Playing with the toy bird, she made it fly around in front of her, then land it on a bush. She left it there as she went over and sat by Gramma who had finished her crunches.

"I miss school," Allison said with a pout as she plodded down.

Breathing hard from her exercise, Sarah grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her face. "I'm Sorry, hon. Your daddy did warn you not to use your invisible hands, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Allison mussed. "But Gramma, it's not like I did anything bad. Everyone was happy when I made the toys fly around. I don't understand what happened."

Sitting cross legged on front of her Sarah said, "I'm sure the other children liked your show, but you made the adults nervous. Nervous people become scared. Scared people can become violent. That's why your Mom and Dad took you out of school, so you won't be in danger." Sarah explained. She then cheered up and said, "Hey, sweetie, we're moving soon so you can go to another school. I'm sure if you are good there, and don't use your invisible hands, everything will be fine."

Allison thought about Gramma's reasoning. It sounded right. "OK, Gramma. I made a mistake, didn't I?"

"You did, but now you know better," Sarah assured her.

Allison nodded. "I won't do it again," she promised.

.

Greg had hit the jackpot. The third local bar he'd gone in, he met a man talking about 'the accident'. A few rum and cokes later, his source gave him all the details. This guy had seen the boy run out into the road.

"And like a shot this girl ran out from the other side, I mean zoom!" the man said with a flail of his hand. "Don't even think she touched the ground. She ran right out in front of that car with him, and smash! At first, I thought the car hit them, but it didn't!" Leaning over to Greg, the man said in his slur, "You know like in those movies when a car just smacks nothing and crumples? That's what happened! It smashed into nothing, pieces flew all over! This young woman leaped over some cars on the side to hug the pink haired kid, the boy ran screaming back to his folks. Never seen nothing like it."

Greg nodded as he recorded what the man was saying. "That's amazing, but that car must have hit something."

"You're gonna think I'm crazy," the man said pointing at him. "But I saw that car." Holding up his hands, fingers splayed, he said, "I saw four giant hand prints in the front of that car. I mean big ones, bigger than any hands got a right to be!"

"Hand prints? You think something put it's hands up to stop that car?"

"Didn't see anything, but they was there," the man stated. "The kid in the black costume with the pink hair, her father took her away. After they all left, an ambulance and a tow truck came The lady driving the car was taken away in the ambulance, the tow truck took the car."

"Do you remember what company the tow truck was from? Name, symbol, the color?" Greg prodded.

"Yea, it was green. No emblems, just plain green. You know that dull green the Army uses?"

"Olive drab," Greg supplied. "That truck had no markings at all?"

"None. It was one of those roll-backs. They scooped the car up and left. The car was trashed. I'll tell ya too, if that car hadn't hit nothing, it would have splattered those kids all over the road."

"Whatever that car hit saved their lives," Greg concluded.

"Sure did!" the man agreed. "I'll tell ya another thing too. It was that pink haired girl pretended to be a witch who done it. Heard tell she made stuff fly in school. She came flyin out there, feet not even touchin the ground. SHE wrecked that car and saved the boy's life! Heard tell she's a real witch."

"Didn't get any pictures, did you?" Greg asked.

"Nope. By the time I even thought about it, most of it was over."

"OK, so what did the cops say?"

"Cops?" the man asked. "Weren't no cops."

Greg's eyebrow raised. "A potentially fatal accident, and no cops showed up?" he asked.

"Naw, just those army looking guys. You know, green shirts, camo pants."

"Yeah, I know," Greg agreed. The accident wasn't the real story. It was only the tip of the iceberg. He had to get inside that gated community and find out what the hell the army was doing here. He had a gut feeling it was some kind of genetic research.

.

The next couple days, Greg poured through papers and looked up anything having to do with the name Connor. Charlie had come up empty with finding the car. Greg was sure that by now, the car had been crushed and gotten rid of. The only thing he found out about the accident in the papers was a woman had hit a tree on that street. Charlie went to go see her. The women had a new car and refused to talk to him.

Digging back in the old newspaper files, Greg caught a break. A picture of bank robbers, terrorists the paper called them, had blown up a bank twelve years ago. Supposedly, they had all died in the explosion, but Mrs. Connor's face was one of those terrorists. She looked identical to the woman who had left the preschool with her daughter. Coincidence, he thought not. According to the paper, her name was Cameron Phillips. The other two were Sarah and John Connor.

A more recent news item also caught his attention. He didn't find it in the files, but on a Youtube video marked 'metal woman climbs out of a wreck'. Here, he watched Mrs. Cameron Connor extricate herself from a crumpled car. The video claimed she was a 'cyborg', and her legs were circled in red and the picture blown up to show her bare metal legs as she dug for something in the wreck.

"You should see the new broadcast that goes with that video," Charlie said as he came in to sit down.

Greg nodded to the screen and said, "We know the Army's involved. Looks like they are making cybernetic soldiers. Mrs. Connor is not human, neither is her child."

Charlie let out a snort. "Aliens," he said. "They are working with the Army, this is proof, dude. How else can a five year old girl step in front of a car and destroy it? We're going to clean up on this story."

"Not us, our aliases." Greg said, correcting him. "I don't want to get disappeared. We'll turn it into the Sun over in England. They will love this, and we won't have a target on our backs. Besides, this story isn't over yet. I want to know how a cyborg can have a child, and where in the hell they came from."

.

The move to Palmdale was smooth, and in the middle of the night. The new community was set up a few miles from the Deitrich Academy on Air Force base land. The commander there wasn't happy the Army was taking over a piece of it's land, but bowed under the pressure from above.

Once everything was set, a convoy rolled out the back gate and down a dirt road that met the highway for their trip. By morning, there was nothing left of the gated community but open gates and for sale signs.

The new community was settled between rolling hills at the edge of an Air Force housing complex. What would have been officer housing was now the new residence of the Connors.

Allison didn't really like moving, she had the feeling they had to move because of her. She hadn't realized how bad it was just to use her Hands where someone could see them. She decided this time, no way was she going to use her Hands outside the house again. She hated loosing friends.

To help her feel better, John and Cameron took Allison to a nearby park. Allison played on the swings with John pushing, then went down the tunnel slide a few times. Although the monkey bars looked tempting, Allison stayed off those, seeing a couple boys were up there.

Seeing a some girls weaving dandelions into bracelets, Allison asked if she could join them. The woman with them had her go pick some. Allison coaxed her mom to come over, and soon they were all making green and yellow bracelets together. It was a fun day.


	7. Chapter 7

CH 7 A new house and a new life.

On the Air Force base near Palmdale, Major Franklin sat at the private conference room table with General Abram and the Air Force General of the base, General Wakefield. The greeted each other, then got down to business.

"I take it this is a top secret project?" General Wakefield asked as he eyed the other two men.

"Eyes and ears only," General Abram stated. "Major," he said with a nod.

Major Franklin passed General Wakefield pictures of people as he talked. "I'll go down the list. This is Catherine Weaver, or rather, an AI in a machine closely resembling her. The real Catherine Weaver died in a helicopter accident years ago. This ... machine has been running Zeita Corp, and taking care of Mrs. Weaver's daughter, Savannah. Savannah of course, will inherit Zeita corp. when she turns eighteen," he explained, showing him a picture of Savannah Weaver.

General Wakefield froned at the picture, then eyed him. "You're telling me we have a true AI?"

"Not just one," Franklin said, and passed him a picture of John Henry. "This is John Henry, an AI that Catherine Weaver, the AI, built to track down and destroy the Sky Net prototype. Apparently, the Sky Net prototype had a malfunction in it, and was going to start world war three. It was stopped by Mrs. Weaver's AI, and help from another place. It still exists, and so does the danger."

"There are two AI's, General Wakefield said with a nod.

"More. John Henry is being supported by this AI, Cameron Connor," Major Franklin said, and showed a picture of her. "Cameron and Catherine are the most advanced AI's. John Henry is learning at a fast pace, but Catherine and Cameron are our knowledge bases."

"How many AI's we got?" General Wakefield asked in surprise.

"There is another one you must be aware of, Cameron's child, Allison."

General Wakefield let out a snort, eyeing Franklin. "You are telling me one of your AI's has a child? Don't you mean a new model?"

"We have records of the birth," General Abram said firmly. "Cameron Connor is a cybernetic organism, fully female and capable of having children. She is also married to John Connor, who she is very protective of. She also has a processor in her metal head that runs her programs."

"That is extraordinary. How did you do this?" General Wakefield asked, shocked by the news.

"We didn't," Major Franklin said. "Cameron Conner and Catherine Weaver are from the future. They came back in time to stop Sky Net from destroying the world. The danger still exists, so we are supporting these AI's the best we can. Now, about this child. Allison is another story all together. Mrs. Connor allowed us to monitor the birth and her child. Allison will be going to school at Dietrich Academy. Tests show she is a genius, and also has some form of mental powers that are very strong. When I say strong, I mean ridiculously strong. We need your men to be able to recognize these people and offer assistance if needed."

General Wakefield rubbed his chin as he eyed Allison's photo. "She's an AI too?" he asked.

"No, Allison has a human brain and mostly human body, but her skeletal structure is made of a metal alloy which means she is a cyborg," Major Franklin explained. "How she got that combination, I can't say, other than that was how she was grown in Cameron's womb. Between us, the best thing I can say is be nice, and don't piss this kid off. Her mother can rip apart cars with her bare hands. This kid doesn't even have to touch them."

"There was an accident not long before we arrived," General Abram added. "Allison stepped out in front of a car we figured was traveling thirty five, forty miles an hour. Allison stopped the car dead, wrecking it. There was a three and a half foot gap between her and the car. It never touched her."

"Like I said, strong mental powers," Major Franklin stated.

"That's impossible," Wakefield stated.

"Apparently not for her," Major Franklin said.

"What we need, General," Abram said firmly "Is for your people to be able to recognize these folks, assist them if needed and ask no questions. We'll have a hot line set up. If anything happens with any of them, we need to know immediately."

Major Franklin passed Wakefield another picture. "This is the car that ran into Allison. Look at the front."

Wakefield looked at the picture and frowned. "This car hit a little girl?" he asked.

"Missed her by three feet, it hit whatever she did to stop it."

Wakefield eyed them. "This goes a step beyond," he said in a grave tone.

"Way beyond. I take it we can count on you?"

"I'll get right on passing the word."

.

Dietrich Academy was a tall brick building with ivy growing up the sides and tall columns in the front. Set back from the road on a long tree lined drive, it looked more like a university than a kid's school.

Allison got out of the car in her new school uniform, white shirt and black string tie, medium blue jacket and plaid knee length skirt, the jacket bearing the symbol for the school, a 'DA' inside a 'U' shaped ivy vine embossed in red over the left breast pocket. She wore plain knee high white socks and brown shoes. Looking up at the tall columns of the entryway, Allison said, "This place is pretty."

"Come on, sweetie." John said and held one of her hands. Cameron held Allison's other hand. Like Allison, her parents wore nice, conservative clothes. John had a suit on, Cameron wore a simple, well taylored dress. The one thing they were not happy about was the school's 'no hats' rule. Allison's silver horns nstled in her long pink hair reflected in the sunshine. Only a blind man could possibly miss them.

"Well, let's see what happens," John mussed. At the top of the steps, he opened the door and ushered his girls in, Allison's horns clearly showing through her pink hair.

The receptionist was also in the school uniform. The bespectacled woman looked up as their footfalls sounded across the cavernous entryway.

"May I help you?" she asked pleasantly.

John motioned to Allison. "Allison Connor reporting to school. I'm John, her father, this is Cameron, her mother."

"Ah yes, Allison Connor," the woman repeated. "I see you already have your uniform, Miss Connor. Very good, dear." Leading closer, she asked, "Just what is that on your head, dear? You are aware adornments are not allowed."

"Those are my nubs," Allison said.

"For whatever reason, Allison was born with them. They don't come off," John explained.

"Interesting," the woman said. "Those go into her scalp?"

"They are part of her skull," Cameron stated.

"Very interesting," the woman said smoothly. "And I suppose there is brain matter inside them that may cause the possibility of brain damage, should surgery be attempted."

"Yes."

"I see." The woman pushed a button on her intercom. "Miss Jacob, Miss Connor has arrived with her parents. Shall I send them in?"

"Please do."

The woman motioned to the hallway beside her. "Second door on the left. Miss Jacobs is waiting for you."

John was gratefully surprised that the woman didn't make a big fuss over Allison's horns. Miss Jacobs, a light haired older woman was a bit more intrigued. The woman greeted them and offered them seats. She then inspected Allsion's head. She asked Allison tip her head, and studied the hard appendages.

"This does not look like bone," the woman said as she tapped it. "It appears to be some sort of metal."

"I got bones like Mommy," Allison told her.

"You mother has metal bones?" Miss Jacobs asked, looking over her glasses at Cameron.

"I'm a cyborg," Cameron stated.

Miss Jacobs nodded slightly. "Yes, that bit on the news a while back. And if you hadn't had that accident, no one would ever know," she concluded. "Be that as it may," she said returning to her desk. "The recommendation I received is that Allison is a very bright child. Mr. Connor, Mrs. Connor, our classrooms are geared to assist children in learning at their own pace. Unlike the quarterly and yearly tests most schools give, we give tests when a child completes each section of education. We have a boy here who is twelve years old and has just started tenth grade. There is a girl who is sixteen, and in her second year of college, chemical engineering. Some proceed very quickly, others tend to learn in spurts, covering a grade level in three months then enjoying sports and vacation for another six. How fast your child learns completely depends upon her. However, if she begins to fall behind in any grade, then we can do nothing else for her."

"Understood," Cameron said.

"Now, we do have dorm rooms available, but due to Allison's age, we would rather see her go home every night. Students are expected in class at eight sharp and the school day ends at three. Extracurricular activities, when Alison is ready for them, begin at three thirty. Again, when she is ready, whether or not Allison decides to participate is up to her. Questions?"

"Yes," John said, "You don't see to be bothered much by our ... unusual family. Many people freak out when they discover we're not normal."

Miss Jacobs cast him a smirk and said, "Mr. Connor, I have seen many things in my time here. From what I've gathered, Allison is some kind of hybrid. She is still a child, and still has the right to have the best education she can get. We are here to provide that. We also do not share information with anyone other than the parents. I would assume you are wanting to avoid any ... reporter problems. "

"We are," John agreed.

"What about other parents," Cameron asked. "At her last school, people were afraid of Allison."

"Fear comes from ignorance," Miss Jacobs stated. "There are no ignorant people here. Allison may be asked questions. Our students are very inquisitive, but it is the thirst for knowledge that drives them, not meanness."

"Are you OK with that, Allison?"' Cameron asked.

Allison nodded. "I got questions too, but not right now," she said.

"Very good, let me show you to Allison's classroom."

.

Greg had put out his piece to the Sun, who had quickly eaten it up. Seeing every house on the gated community for sale, he'd gone house hunting. Playing a rich guy looking for the 'perfect place', he toured the houses with the real estate agent looking for clues. Through off hand questions, he found out the agent knew nothing of the previous owners. She was under the impression these were all new houses. He could see work had been done on them here and there. In the basement of one house, the outlines of new sheet rock tried to hide what looked like cable runs. Another house had freshly cemented basement walls, when not many other houses had basements around here. Someone had covered up the fact a lot more had been going on here that plain homes.

Greg got back to his office after his trip, coming up empty. He knew something had been going on there, and suspected that accident had caused them to pull up stakes before anyone asked the wrong question to the wrong people.

His phone rang. He scooped it up. "Greg,"

A static filled voice, sounding like a computer or someone deliberately hiding their voice spoke. "You are investigating the Connors?"

Greg perked up. "Maybe, do you have something?"

"Money. I want them investigated. I want to find the pink haired child. I will pay handsomely."

"Really?'" Greg asked with a grin. "And just what would 'handsomely' be? A few thousand?"

"Think bigger. I will give two million for expenses. Five when you give me a verifiable address."

"Wow, so, why do you want this girl that bad?" Greg asked.

"Same as you, I want to know what she is. Will you accept?"

"There's a lot more mystery that just the girl," Greg stated. "What do you know about her mother, Mrs. Connor?"

"Do you accept?"

"All right, I accept, now what about Mrs. Connor?"

"Get on your laptop, open your bank account."

Greg paused. "So you can steal me blind?" he asked.

"You only have three thousand, six hundred ninety two dollars and fifteen cents. Not worth the effort," the voice said.

Greg raised an eyebrow and logged into his account. "OK, so you've already hacked my account. Good work, thief."

"Do you have your balance up?"

"I'm looking at it."

"Look at it ... now."

Greg's eyebrows rose up as two million ticked into his account. "Merry Christmas. OK, so you're legit. What about Mrs. Connor?"

"The one you know as Mrs. Connor is actually a terminator designed to kill human beings. Designation TOK 714. Armored with a coltan endoskeleton, the unit is highly resistant to small arms. Only 50 caliber and above has a chance at piercing the armor. The CPU is capable of perfectly imitating a human to allow it to go undetected. This unit is very proficient in infiltrating and eliminating the target by hand or with a weapon..."

Greg sat intently listening to what seemed impossible. Then again, he'd had enough evidence put together to prove Mrs. Cameron Connor was not what she appeared to be. He still had one burning question. How did an armored, android assassin manage to bear a child?

.

Allison walked into her wood paneled classroom. The classroom wasn't very large, the deskswere arrainged five by five with an open area on the back containing a few couches and tables. Of the twenty five desks, only a spattering of six desks were taken by students. Allison waved to Gloria, her teacher. "Hola, seniora!" Allison said happily.

"It's seniorita," Gloria said, grinning back at Allison. "Senior means man, Seniora is a married woman, seniorita is an unmarried lady," she explained.

"Hola, Seniorita!" Allison said, correcting herself. "And guess what, Gloria? Mommy can speak all kinds of languages too! We studied Spanish last night."

"That makes it easier to study," Gloria agreed. Holding up an envelope, she said, "Make sure your parents get this. This is your graduation from Kindergarten and First grade."

Allison ran up to the desk and put the envelope in her backpack. "Do you have my assignments today?"

"Right here." Gloria said and showed her a paper. "Now pay close attention, besides adding and subtracting, this has the multiplication tables on it. If you want, we can go over it before you begin."

Allison looked at the paper. Tipping her head slightly, she mussed, "OK, wait... I think I see. Multiplying is adding one number, the times of the other number. That means two times four is eight?"

"Very good!" Gloria told her. "So three times three is.."

Allison paused a second, then said, "Nine!"

"Outstanding! I think you got it."

"Hey, Allison," a blond haired boy said as he looked up from his paper. Pointing to her, he said, "Mucho hermosa muchacha!"

Allison tipped her head slightly. "Very pretty ... what?" she asked.

"Very pretty girl," he said with a slight blush.

"Thank you, Byron!" Allison said happily.

A few seats awal, a nine year old pig tailed brunette named Becky rolled her eyes. "Byron, stop flirting with Allison. You're seven. She's only five."

Byron frowned at her. "In fifteen years, it won't make any difference," he countered.

Lifting her nose up, Becky said, "Statistically, you won't even know her in fifteen years."

Turning around to her, Byron said, "We do not go by normal statistics. Besides, Allison is Christmas tree-cute."

"Christmas tree cute?"

"Yeah!" Byron said, beaming Allison a smile. "Her pink hair and those shiny nubs remind me of a Christmas tree. Allison really brightens up the room whenever she comes in."

"So are you going to hang ornaments off her?" a boy in the back asked.

"No, I'm just saying it's nice to see her," Byron said defensively.

Allison sat down at her desk blushing. Christmas-tree cute. She giggled at that. Working through her paper, she got another piece of paper and figured the multiplication and worked out her problems. After studying the multiplication tables, she figured them much faster. She turned that paper in and got another from the teacher. This one was dual numbers to multiply and a guide in how to get started. Still seeing the tables in her mind, she worked through the problems, the last two being triple numbers.

After multiplication was division, and a bit messier. Not all the numbers came out even. There were remainders, and when she got that, she studied about tenths of numbers.

Lunch time came. Allison had a snack and took a nap in the back of the room on one of the comfortable couches. After her nap to rest her brain, Allison woke up with Becky staring at her.

Pointing to Allison's head, Becky asked, "Do you got a bigger brain? Is that why your skull sticks out like that?"

"Ummm, could be. The doctor said I do," Allison said and stretched before she got up.

"And you must have a lot of minerals in your body too," Becky mussed. "That's why your bone things are shiny."

Allison nodded. "Yeah, I got Mommy's bones. I have to eat a lot of metal salt to keep growing up healthy."

Becky pointed a finger at her and mussed, "I think you're like this because of Darwin's evolution theory. He says people and animals change over time, so something in your mom made her have metal bones, so you got them, and the ones sticking up on your head besides."

"Evolution theory?" Allison asked.

"Right, you see, we all started out as sea creatures, but due to changing conditions, animals had to evolve. They changed to fit their environment. The ones who couldn't change, died out. That means in the future, more and more people are going to be like you, and less and less will have the bones we got now."

"That is, if the mutation that Allison has is beneficial," The brown haired boy named Dan said. The tallest in the room, the eleven year old added, "That is a very interesting mutation, by the way. I bet you're strong, aren't you, Allison?"

Allison shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Why would she be stronger than normal, Dan?" Becky asked.

Dan lifted and hand and said, "Simple! I doubt all those extra minerals just go to her bones. Bones connect to ligaments that connect to muscle. I bet Allison can lift a lot more than anyone else."

"No unauthorized experiments with other students, Dan," Gloria warned from the front.

"I wasn't planning on it," Dan called back. "I'm just thinking." Turning to Allison he asked, "Am I right?"

"Daddy says I have to be careful with Gramma, so yeah," Allison replied.

"See! My theory is correct!" Dan said proudly.

"So that means Allison is heavier, she probably can't swim. She'd sink to the bottom," Becky mussed. Looking at Allison, she warned, "Don't go swimming."

The way she said it made Allison giggle. She really liked this school.

.

It took Greg a couple weeks to figure out even which direction the entire community had fled in. Charlie watched the pre-school for a while, it was obvious they weren't going back there. While Charlie did that and searched for news, Greg walked around the empty community and found a freshly made dirt road with truck tracks. Heavy truck tracks that sank in the softer spots. The road met another road, the highway was close by.

Seeing the Army was behind this, Greg started looking at military posts. Since they retreated quickly, he assumed they would set up at one nearby to keep unwanted visitors out. He got a map and traced the highway in both directions. They was plenty of naval and Air force bases, and a lot of housing for the military.

Greg contacted a few of his sources and promised a two thousand dollar reward to whoever was able to spot the pink haired girl and show him where she was. With pink hair, he figured the girl would be easy to find. He also distributed the mug shots he got from the old paper. If he could find even the area they lived in, he'd be able to narrow down the search.

For how simple it sounded, Greg knew he was in for a long search. He'd blown through almost the whole first million tracking down a punk girl, then a stripper who was far too old to be this girl. Another LA denizen was a high school girl. Three others in LA he dismissed, he doubted the Connors had stayed in LA. He had no phone numbers, no address, no credit card numbers. Even the credit bureau had nothing on them. It was like they disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Stumbling upon the name 'Baum' he found Cameron's picture in a high school year book, that lead quickly trailed out to nothing. Weeks passed into months, he found himself no closer to his goal.

A call from his benefactor gave him an extra injection of cash, and the reward was boosted up to six million.

"Money is no object. Find her." the static filled psudo voice told him.

After a few more months of nothing, Greg got a call. Someone had seen a small pink haired child about five years old leaving an Air Force base. Greg was on it immediately, driving out to Palmdale where this sighting was. Once the man was paid, he led Greg to another man who was a vendor at the Air Force base.

The man was older and inhabited a ice cream truck. Greg went up to the window and offered him a smile. "Hi, I was told you seen someone. Small girl, pink hair?" he asked as he held up the cash.

"Two thousand?"

"Right here, so, did you see her?"

The old man took the money. "Yeah, I saw her. Pretty as ya please. Her Dad bought cones. The girl was bare headed and in a blue school uniform. You know that girl's an alien, right?"

Greg frown at him and asked, "What makes you say that?"

The man tapped his head. "People don't got horns. She does. Kinda silver, almost like they're metal. Dad drives a newer black jeep. You gonna print this?"

"Not until I get all the facts," Greg said as he took notes. "This was on the Air Force base? What day?"

"Last week, Thursday. I was sitting in the commissary lot, they pulled in. The Dad got out, got ice cream, then headed off towards the ball fields. I remember cause the girl looked so different. Only time I seen 'em."

"That uniform, you said it was blue. Light, dark? Did she have a skirt on?"

"Medium blue, I think, she was sitting in shadow. She had a skirt on, I could see her knees. Long white socks too."

"You've been a big help, thanks," Greg said, and handed him one of his cards. "If you see them again, I'd appreciate a call."

Greg left to go look up school uniforms.

School uniforms were hardly ever used in the more resent times. The only ones to use them were a few upper class schools, religious schools and the better colleges. Searching for such a simple thing, he thought would be easy. Unfortunately, digging out the right uniform for each school he could think of was another hard task. He forgot the colleges and focused on grade schools.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8 Telekinetic Allison

Sitting at his station in the lab, John Henry spoke up after hours of silence. "Cameron, We may have something," he announced. "A waterway project collapsed into a previously dug tunnel. The city engineers have no record of this tunnel. From what I am hearing over their communications, they found one end freshly dug, the other end was collapsed. Do you think it is feasible Sky Net is digging under ground?"

Cameron quickly had the data John Henry was looking at. "Possible, if you follow the tunnel line down, it comes very close to the old LA community. Sky Net was trying to dig it's way to us," she stated.

"I will inform Major Franklin and implement underground sensors so we will detect any further attempts," John Henry stated.

"Keep active for any other openings, we may learn where it started from," Cameron advised.

"The next at least four point Earthquake will tell us," John Henry said. "I am connected to the seismic array in California. The variations in sound travel underground will reveal any cavities. Once I compare those to known cavities, then we can focus on unknown cavities."

The door creaked open. Savannah stuck her head in and asked, "John Henry, are you busy?"

John Henry looked at her and smiled. "Hello, Savannah. I have the memory stick you wanted." Picking it up, he held it out to her. "Beside the bands you wanted to record, I added 'Pink'. That is in line with the rhythm of music you like, and I found that 'Fucking Perfect' has very thoughtful lyrics."

"Thank you, John Henry," Savannah said with a smile. She ran in, kissed his forehead and took her music. "You're the greatest!"

John Henry bore his creepy smile as he watched watched Savannah leave. Turning to Cameron, he said, "Savannah is very happy. She showed me affection."

"You are her friend, John Henry," Cameron said with a tiny smirk.

"Yes, I like being a friend," he agreed.

.

John Connor sat on the bench as a small group of kids from the school played kickball. Allison was the smallest one there. The nine through twelve year olds towered over her. Like their uniforms, they sports clothes were the same, white shirts with a school emblem on the front, and blue shorts. Although not a big game, kids and parents alike cheered and routed for their teams.

The blond boy before Allison got on a base. Allison stepped up to the plate.

"Come on, Ally, kick the crap out if it!" the boy screamed.

A rousing cheer went up, the pitcher moved up a few steps. "Easy out," he said and rolled the ball.

John could see in that split second, Allison's face change into a harder look. "Oh boy," he muttered. Allison did not like getting mocked.

John winced as Allison cocked back and slammed the ball with her foot. With a **BOOM**, the soccer ball shot past the pitcher three feet off the ground and out past second base in a flat trajectory. The other team gapped as Allison's team cheered wildly, urging her on. The boy ran the bases. By the time the other team had recovered to chase the ball that was now way out by the fence, the boy had run home, with Allison close behind him.

John stood up and cheered as Allison's team mates gathered around her, cheering her accomplishment. He thought briefly about asking Allison to kick a bit softer, but that guy deserved what he got. "Way to go Allison!" he cried.

With Allison's help, the 'Junior three' class beat the 'Junior Two' class 12 to 9. After the game, Miss Gloria and John drove the winning team down to Dairy Queen to celebrate their victory.

Even thought hats were not allowed, Gloria made a special exception for Allison's trip to get ice cream. John had a puffy blue baseball cap for Allison. She tucked her pony tail up under her hat, hiding most of her hair and her horns.

"Great game, sweetie. You seem to be having a lot of fun," John told her.

Allison beamed him a smile. "I do Daddy! Even Dan is nice to me, even though he studies a lot, and Byron thinks I'm Christmas Tree pretty!"

"Yeah, Byron is in love with Ally," Becky said from the back seat.

"I just said she's pretty, that all," Byron said defensively as his face reddened.

They had a good time, poking fun, then sang a silly song on the way.

.

John stood by for the total of the orders as the kids took their turn in line to get their ice cream and go sit down on the bench Gloria was keeping space for them at.

Getting her ice cream, Allison headed for the bench, then decided she wanted a napkin. Walking back, she heard a woman called, out "Allison! What are you doing?"

Allison looked to the side to stare at a woman sitting at a table who was staring at her. "Do I know you?" Allison asked weakly.

"Allison?" the woman asked, wide eyed.

"Here mom..."

Allison turned to see another girl holding her father's hand. It was like looking in a mirror. Other than hair color, the other girl had light brown hair, they were identical. They stared at each other. The father looked at his daughter, then at Allison. "No way," he said.

Not knowing who these people were, Allison backed up a step and did the only thing she could think of. "Daddy, there's two of me!" Allison cried as she pointed at her other self.

"Allison, WHAT are you talking about?" John asked as he approached.

The other Allison held onto her father's leg, and asked,"Who's that, Daddy?"

John came closer, Allison ran over to him. John then found himself looking at another man with the same daughter. Other than her light brown hair, the girls were identical. "No shit," he whispered.

"Wow, I don't believe this," the other man said. "She's a dead ringer for my Allison."

Allison stared at him. "But I'm Allison!" she complained.

"Daddy?" the other Allison asked, gripping his leg.

"Excuse me, that girl is named Allison too?" the mother asked, wide eyed.

Byron came up, bearing a wide smile."Aww wow! Look guys, we got TWO Allisons!" he looked at each, then said, "but only our Allison is Christmas Tree Pretty!"

"How ... how in the hell does something like this happen?" the man asked.

John shrugged. He knew, but he wasn't about to tell. "Ahh, my name's John, this is my daughter, Allison Kaeda Connor."

"Bill," the other man offered, "My wife Elenore, my daughter Allison Lynn ... I mean wow, other than hair color, they could be twins."

"Does your Allison have nubs?" Byron asked as he studied her head.

"Ahhh, Byron?" Allison asked. When he looked at her, she shook her head.

"This is really strange," John offered, then added, "But hey, I heard everyone has a twin in this world."

"Heard that too, but this is too weird. They even have the same name," Bill noted.

The brown haired Allison asked pink haired Allison in a meek voice, "Umm, do you go to school too?"

Pink haired Allison nodded. "I'm working on second grade. I passed Kindergarten and First grade."

"And how old are you?" Bill asked.

"Five years, four months, seven days," pink haired Allison explained.

"Allison goes to an advanced school." John supplied.

"Ally's a genius," Byron said proudly. "She's even smarter than me. Give her another year and she will be at least at the end of third grade."

"And can she really kick a ball!" Becky added, mimicking a kick. "She knocked it way out! You should have seen class Two's faces! They didn't think she'd kick it, but she walloped it into the back fence!"

"Yeah, that was loud too, boom!" Byron said with a grin.

Allison noticed something else about the other Allison. Her hand was tipped, and her ice cream was about to drop out of the cone. "Ummm, your ice cream," she said as she pointed.

Just as brown haired Allison looked at her ice cream, it fell. Not thinking, Allison shot out a Hand and caught it before it hit the ground. she returned it to the cone as the other Allison stared.

"No way!" Byron cried. "Ally, did you do that?"

John let out a huff and eyed his daughter.

"Sorry Daddy, she was going to loose it," Allison said with a wince.

"No way!" Becky cried, and shifted her gaze to their Allison. "You have telekinesis?"

"Hey Gloria, you gotta come see this! Allison has telekinesis!" Byron cried happily.

"How ... did she do that?" Bill asked.

"Ahh, we should probably be going," John said weakly. He did not want to explain.

"Allison, can you do something else? like ... pick up that stick over there?" Becky asked excitedly.

"I better not," Allison said sheepishly.

"Your Allison is really special, isn't she?" Bill asked John.

John allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction. "Yeah, Allison is really special. We should be going."

"Thank you, Allison," Bill's Alison said meekly.

"You're welcome, Allison," John's Allison replied.

As they separated, Alison looked up at John and said, "Hey Daddy, that was weird, that girl looking like me and having the same name."

"It was," John agreed, not feeling comfortable talking about it.

"Do you think maybe we are related somehow?"

"Don't see how that's possible," John offered.

There was something in her father's voice that made Allison wonder what he wasn't saying. She didn't think her Daddy was lying, but somehow she felt like he knew more than what he was claiming.

.

Greg Hanson had heard the kids talking loud, and picked up on the word 'telekinesis'. That usually wasn't in a school kid's vocabulary. Looking over at the group now separating , he noticed one of the people he was looking for. John Connor led his daughter over to a picnic table with a group of kids.

Studying the group, he also noted the girl beside John had her hair tucked up under her baseball cap. From here, all he could tell was she had light colored hair, most likely strawberry blond. Or pink. Picking up his camera, he zoomed in and focused on the back of her head. A few strands of hair were peeking out, It was pink. He took a picture.

He'd found them!

Greg got up and decided to take some nature shots. Walking across the parking lot, he feigned taking pictures of the landscape while he watched the group out of the corner of his eye. When they piled back into two cars to leave, He zoomed in on the license plates. One was a black SUV. John Connor got in that one. He waited until they were on their way, then got in his car and followed them.

.

On their way home, Allison noted her father wasn't in a good mood. Thinking abut the ice cream stand, she asked, "I didn't do it again, did I Daddy?"

"What's that hon?" John asked, glancing at her.

"The last time people saw me using my invisible hands, it caused trouble," Allison explained. "They aren't going to hate me now, are they?"

John suppressed a grin. "I really don't think so, sweetheart. I think they are more curious than anything. But you do have to be very careful. Remember there are many people who will get upset if they see something like that."

"I'm sorry, Daddy, I just wanted to save her ice cream."

"You have a good heart, Allison. I'm sure the other girl appreciated you dong that." He then paused as he looked in the rear view mirror.

Allison knew the way home. Daddy slowed and turned down the wrong road, then turned into a gas station and parked behind the building. She watched him looking out back at the road. "Daddy, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Playing hide and seek," he said vacantly. After a few minutes, he drove slowly along the back side of the parking lot, then turned onto a side street, then turned again. After a few more turns, he got back to the right road and continued on home.

Allison looked around to see who Daddy was playing with, but didn't see anyone. Noting they were headed home again, Allison asked, "We're not playing any more?"

"No, sweetie, we won."

.

Greg saw John had pulled into the gas station. He picked a parallel parking spot to watch the station. Five minutes of waiting turned into ten, then fifteen. Anxious, Greg pulled out of his spot and drove past the station. John wasn't there.

"Damn it!" Greg muttered. The only other way out of that station was a side street. Greg turned around and went down that street slow, looking at each house for the black SUV. Connor had to be down here someplace.

.

Allison liked the color of their new car. The day they got home after Daddy had played 'hide and seek' with someone, he'd taken the car down to get it exchanged. The light blue paint looked better, and best of all it was nice and shiny, Allison made faces at herself and giggled in the freshly waxed paint.

Going to school today, they had an escort. Their old black SUV followed them most of the way to school. Allison looked in the side mirror, then turned around in her seat to look behind them. "Daddy, is that Mommy following us?"

"It is, sweetie. She has someplace to go today," John explained.

Allison waved, but her mother didn't wave back.

.

Cameron was paying attention the car following sixty three yards behind her. It was the same make and color that John had told her was following him. She turned off on a road before they got to the long driveway of the school. The car followed her. Cameron led the car on down to a grocery store, and swung into the lot. Instead of parking, she made a loop and came back out. The car had parked on the side of the road. The driver looked surprised to see her pulling back out.

She stopped on the other side of the road, facing him. Watching him with her blank stare, she waited for him to make a move. He took a picture, then tried to look busy. He made a cell phone call. Cameron note the frequency and tuned in.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Charlie, Greg. I was following the Connor vehicle and got made. She's parked ahead of me on the other side of the road and she's just staring at me."

"And? What am I suppose to do? I'm in the office making copy for our next article."

"I'm just telling ya man! Just in case something happens to me. That stare is giving me the chills, I think she's after me."

"So? Drive away. What's she gonna do, ram you?"

"Think I should call the cops?"

"For what? You're going to turn in a scary-stare report? Drive away!"

"Thanks!" Greg barked and cut the connection.

Now having his number, Cameron called Greg.

"Charlie?" Greg asked.

In a male voice, Cameron sent, "No, not Charlie. Get out of your vehicle."

"Who's this?"

"State Police. Get out of your vehicle and walk to the grocery store. Do it now if you want to live."

Greg looked around. He didn't see any police cars. "Where are you?"

"Monitoring your position. There is a terminator watching you, she will kill you. Get out and go to the store, before it's too late."

Right Cameron Conner was an assassin. One he had no hope of fighting. "Yeah, yeah, OK." Apparently, he'd gotten a target put on his back. He got out of his car, locked it, and walked briskly towards the store.

.

Cameron watched Greg get out of his car, casting her nervous glances. Zooming in on him, she didn't see his camera. Tracking told her he still has his phone on him. She watched him jog across the parking lot, staying between cars. When he was inside, Cameron drove out of sight of the store. She parked and ran back to his car. A few seconds of communicating with the car's computer and the doors unlocked. She crushed his camera making sure the memory chip was destroyed, reached under the dash and ripped the wires out of the computer, locked the doors then ran back to her own car and drove away. She called Greg again.

"Greg Hanson."

In her own voice, Cameron said, "Thank you for telling me your name, Mr. Hanson. By the time you get your car repaired, I will have all your personal information. If we are followed again, it will turn out very bad for you."

Cameron then contacted John Henry and let him know they had a suspicious person to keep an eye on. When she detected Greg using his phone again, she sported a crooked grin. Someone had broken into his car, and now it wouldn't do anything.

.

Allison agreed to a 'test' of her telekinetic abilities for her curious classmates. Monitored closely by Gloria, they went outside to the cafeteria's dinning patio.

Byron was first, He dumped a box of children's blocks on a table and spread them out. Stepping back, he explained, "This test is to determine the number of items Allison can lift."

Standing a few feet away, Allison told him, "That's easy. Whatever I can fit in my Hands."

"Hands?" Byron asked, looking confused. "Ally, I want you to use your mind, not your hands."

"OH wait!" Becky piped up. "I think I get it! Ally, you see your ability as hands reaching out, right? How many do you have?"

"Ten," Allison said. She picked up one block with each hand. "See, one in each hand."

Watching with a thoughtful look on his face, Dan asked, "Ally, can you see your ... hands as something else?"

"Like what?"

Dan shrugged. "I don't know. Try imaging them as shovels."

"I never tried," Allison admitted. Watching the hands only she could see, she frowned and flattened her hands. She dropped a block, and quickly scooped it back up before it hit the table. Her hands were flat. "They are still hands," she said.

"Maybe that's all Ally ever saw them as, so that's all she can imagine," Kate offered.

"Yeah, I can see that," Byron added. "I mean how do you pick stuff up? With your hands."

"Can I do my experiment now?" Becky asked.

Gloria nodded.

"Ally, how far can you reach?" Becky asked.

Allison pointed up as she reached up with the blocks. The blocks shot up in the air until they were only dots. "That's about it," Allison told them.

"Umm, Ally? Could you do that along the ground? I can't tell how high they are," Becky said as she looked up.

"That's a long way up," Byron noted.

"We got a tape measure?" Kate asked.

"We need one of those measuring wheels," Dan told her. "Those are waaaay up there."

"We also need a more open area," Gloria told them.

Allison retracted her hands and set the blocks back on the table. Byron went to retrieve them as they came down. Afraid he was going to touch her hands, Allison quickly let the blocks go and pulled her Hands back as she yelped, "BYRON!"

Byron jerked back and gapped at her. "What?" he cried as the blocks bounced off the table.

"My hands were out, don't EVER touch my invisible hands!" Allison said firmly.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because Daddy and Mommy said they are dangerous! I have broken things by accident, I don't want to break you!" Allison said firmly.

"oh," Byron said, and backed up.

"Dangerous? How?" Becky asked.

"They can go through things if I'm not careful," Allison explained. "Even holding something, if I don't hold it soft enough, I can crush it by accident."

"Can I do an experiment?" Dan asked. "I want to see how strong Allison's invisible hands are."

Gloria paused and said, "Let's not. If Allison has been working at fine control, we want to support that, not make her try to break things. Right now, we still have the reach experiment to work on, correct?"

"Yeah, I'm not done yet," Becky told him haughtily.

Gloria led her class out to a driving range where the long open grass was marked off with signs every hundred yards. Allison stood right where the golf tee would go. Byron put the box of blocks down in front of her.

As a safety measure, Gloria told them. "Everyone, keep in mind what Allison said, it is dangerous to touch her Hands. So, Allison you take the blocks straight down the path, right over the yard markers. Becky, and whoever else is going, stay away from those markers and do not get between them and Allison. We do not want any accidents." She waited until she got nods, and a couple 'OK's", then told Allison. "Go ahead."

"Um, Gloria?" Dan asked quickly. "How about if Allison reaches out as far as she can, then drops them. Then she can go see how far away they are too."

"Yeah, I like that idea," Allison agreed.

"Go ahead, Allison."

Allison reached in the box and picked up ten blocks again. She shot her hands out as far as they would go, streaching her arms thin, then set then blocks down and retracted her hands. "Done!"

Armed with the longest tape measure they could find, the class went out to find the blocks a short distance from the first hundred yard marker. Measuring from the blocks to the marker, they found Allison was 28 feet six inches from a hundred yards.

"Two hundred seventy four point five feet!" Becky announced.

"Wow, Allison, that is a long reach!" Byron said, beaming her a smile.

"That is very impressive," Gloria agreed.

"Can we do a strength test now?" Dan asked.

Allison frowned at him and shook her head.

"I don't mean breaking stuff," Dan said with his hands up in defeat. "I mean like how much can one of your hands lift?"

"That is a good question," Becky added.

Their next trip was down to the gym. There was one of those weight machines. Dan loaded on ten pounds to start with. Allison pulled the handle down easily. Dan added ten more, then twenty more, then fifty more. Allison kept pulling the handle down all the way. Dan kept adding weight, and Allison kept pulling the handle down all the way. Dan loaded all the weight they had. The three hundred sixty pound stack of weights was still lifted and set back in place in a full stroke.

"I can see why you're afraid to have anyone touch your hands," Byron noted. "You're using just one hand, Ally?"

Allison nodded.

"Is it getting any harder to lift them?" Becky asked.

Allison shrugged and said, "Not really, It's not like I feel the weight as I would if I used my every-day arms. I just want the handle to go down, and it does."

"We can conclude then that physical weight is not a factor," Dan decided.

"But distance and number of items are," Becky added.

"What about speed?" Kate asked. "How fast can you do something, Ally?"

"As fast as I want. It's like I want my Hands someplace, and they are there."

"Like the other Allison's ice cream," Byron said. "Right after it started to drop, it stopped and went back to the cone."

"Right, I saw it drop, and put a hand under it to stop it," Allison agreed.

Gloria looked at her watch. "Lunch is in five minutes, guys. You have performed good, scientific experiments this morning. After experiments, scientists record and make reports on their findings. This afternoon, I want you all to write a report on the facts you've collected. They will be graded for spelling as well, so use a dictionary if you need to. Morning class is over."

.

The repair bill for Greg's car was high, and it took a week to get a new computer for it. He changed his cell service and rented a new place. He also moved his office. Even with all that, he still got a call from the computer-enhanced voice.

"What have you found out?"

"We're dealing with someone with backing,"Greg stated. "Yeah I found the Connors, and got my car trashed. They know everything about me. They are connected with the Army somehow, genetic research I think."

"Where do they live?' the voice asked.

"I found them in Palmdale, the kid goes to a school for the gifted there. Tracking down her uniform, she's going to Dietrich Academy. Top IQ's only school. Where their house is, I don't know. They found out I was following them, and now they are watching me. With what I know of them, I'm not going to snoop around them any more. People that do that end up disappeared, usually in a shallow grave."

"I am going to give you a location. Go there, and I have something for you since you did complete your mission. The Connors will no longer be able to track you."

Greg wrote down the address. "Got it, when?"

"At your convenience, but no later that tomorrow night."

Greg did as the voice told him. He went to the location the next day, was hoping it was some state-of-the-art electronics to mask his presence. Pulling into the yard of a warehouse, he stopped and got out of his car. The yard was empty, he walked into the warehouse. "Hello?" he called.

"Mr. Hanson?" a voice asked from someplace.

"Yeah? What do you have?" Greg asked as he looked around.

Greg never heard the shot that struck him in the back of the head and blew his face all over the concrete. He was dead before he hit the floor.

The T-800 left out the back as it had come in. Sky net had no more use for that human, it now knew how to find the child. With it's remaining terminator and the new units it had build, it was ready to collect the child and find out what was so special about it. Once it had the information, it would lay a trap and finally be rid of John Connor.


	9. Chapter 9

CH 9. Sky Net strikes

Becky had a birthday coming up. Allison and the rest of the class got gifts and with Gloria's help, came to school early that day and set up decorations and wrapped presents for Becky. All the parents available came. As always, formal attire was required at the school.

Outside the school building in the back, they set up at a small a pavilion with balloons, streamers and a large 'Happy Birthday Becky' banner. Becky's mother made a cake, and the presents were stacked on one of the tables in the back where the closed in portion of the structure was.

Becky's father drove his car around the back, to bring Becky right to the party. Allison and the gang greeted her, and hustled her over to the cake.

John and Cameron joined in with the parents and class singing happy birthday to Becky. Becky took in a big breath and blew the candles out as everyone around her cheered.

"You are Allison's parents?" A woman asked as she approached John and Cameron. "Byron talks so much about Allison!"

"Good things, I hope," John asked with a smile.

"Oh yes!" With a giggle, she said in a conspiratorial tone, "He even insists he's going to marry her when they grow up!"

They had a laugh, and listen as the woman talked about her Byron. Another couple joined them, Becky's parents. John noted the drinks on the table were going fast. He got the pitcher went to the back of the pavilion to refill it.

Crashing in through the woods, a tracked vehicle drove quickly into the pavilion area and stopped. At the same time, the car Becky's father had driven blew up.

There were yelps and stares of disbelief at the now burning car. The tracked vehicle that had driven close to the pavilion had dual tracks that went the full length, like a bulldozer. The ten foot long machine looked to be made of metal. A hatch on the top sprung open. A voice from a speaker on the vehicle spoke.

"Attention! This area is targeted by multiple cannons. Allison Connor, enter this vehicle, or else everyone will be fired upon!"

While it was still registering with most of the group what was happening, Cameron grabbed Allison in her arms and ran into the walled area of the pavilion. "Stay down!" she called to John as she made Allison lay on the floor.

"Who are you!" Gloria called.

"Allison Connor, enter this vehicle immediately of everyone will be killed."

John and Cameron crawled out to peek around the edge of the walls.

"I don't see anyone," John said.

"They are using range weapons, The tracked vehicle is most likely their targeting reference," Cameron replied.

"Allison Connor, you have five seconds left to comply!"

Allison got up and ran out, holding her arms up. "Don't hurt anyone, please!" she yelled.

"Allison, get back here!" John screamed.

Allison turned to him, wearing a stricken face. "I can't Daddy, they're gonna hurt my friends!" she said in a pained voice.

In a lower voice, Cameron said, "Allison, go. Wait until you are away, then use your mind Hands and escape. We will be following you."

Allison looked at Cameron and nodded. She walked over to the tracked vehicle.

"Allison, don't do it!" Byron cried. He bolted over and hugged Allison.

Allison pried him off. "I have to," she said, looking into his terrified face. "Don't worry, I'll get away."

"Promise me," Byron blubbered.

"I promise," Allison told him. She stepped away and climbed up into the hatch, which shut behind her.

The tracked vehicle spun on it's axis and took off.

"Scatter and RUN!" Cameron yelled as she shot up. No more than had she gotten John to his feet, when the ground erupted, throwing dirt over the party goers. That was enough to get everyone screaming and running.

John and Cameron raced around the building as a couple more shells hit, one punching down through the pavilion roof to explode bits of concrete floor in the air and destroying the table with the cake on it, another landing close enough to John and Cameron that the flying dirt from the impact knocked them down. Cameron helped John get to his feet as they raced around the building. Cameron got on line with John Henry, they had a satellite lining up to show the area in real time view.

"I'm driving," Cameron announced as she jumped into the driver's seat. John got in, Cameron put it in four wheel and raced off for the back of the school.

.

Inside a small compartment of the tracked vehicle, Allison listened to a voice as the machine bounced along. "We have your family and friends targeted. Any escape attempt by you will result in their deaths." a hole opened up in the cylindrical space. "Place your hand into the hole."

"Why?" Allison asked.

"Place your hand into the hole, Non compliance will result in the death of your family and friends."

Allison stuck a mind hand in the hole, making sure to touch the edges. She heard a hiss, and a mist came from the hole.

After another minute of bouncing around in the fast moving vehicle, Allison heard, "Tranquilizer ineffective. Commence secondary immobilizing operation."

Allison gritted her teeth. She was afraid for her friends, but she had to trust what Mommy told her. She lashed out with all ten mind hands, slashing away at the hatch above her, ripping it apart to explode up and away. She then pushed herself out hard, shooting out the top as gas filled the space she'd been in.

High in the air over the vehicle, she saw it racing on, trailing gas out the top. She also noted another one it passed by. This one had some kind of gun pointing back the way it came. That had to be the one that was going to shoot at her friends. As she dropped, she pushed down with her hands, bringing herself behind this vehicle. She landed a dozen yards behind the vehicle,and slammed her mind hands down on it, splitting it in two lengthwise. Sparks and balls of fire from circuits shorting out erupted from the wreck. Pulling her mind hands close, Allison shielded herself from the burning bits that spat out.

Allison looked for more low slug, tracked vehicles as she ran back towards the school. Hearing an engine noise coming at her, she braced herself to destroy that one. Their jeep burst into view. Cameron slowed down and slid the last few yards, bringing the vehicle to a halt. John opened his door.

"Allison, come on!" he called.

Allison ran up and got in. Cameron took off the way they were pointed.

"Mommy, what was that?" Allison cried.

"Sky Net. There are two more of those tracked vehicles. They are now retreating. John Henry has them on satellite, and helicopters are on their way to destroy them," Cameron stated.

"Is everyone OK," Allison asked.

"So far," Cameron stated flatly. Coming to a dirt road, Cameron took it, slowing only as much as needed to keep them from tipping over. She then checked the rear view mirror. "Allison, are you injured?"

"No, but that thing tried to put something in my arm. I tricked it."

"Good for you, sweetie," John said proudly as he held on for dear life from Cameron's driving.

"Are we going back to school?" Allison asked.

"It's no longer safe there," Cameron said flatly. "We are taking the back roads home."

.

Major Franklin was there with his General, Catherine Weaver, and the Connors as the wrecked vehicle was brought into a secure warehouse.

"Someone made a small Stug," the General said as he eyed the wreck.

"A what?" John asked.

Waving a hand at it, the General said, "Tracked vehicle used by the Nazis in world war two. It was designed to be a mobile field gun. It worked well as such, but they also found out it was a good tank destroyer. Low to the ground since it had no turret, it made a small target. It was one of their most versatile war machines and widely used. The only drawback was the whole vehicle had to be turned to aim the gun. It did turn fast for the day, so that was not much of a drawback. Stugs were taking out Russian T-34's before any of their tanks did."

Looking into the wreck, Catherine said, "Very efficient electric drive ... The gun is powered by electromagnetic energy. No powder, which means it can hold more rounds in less space."

"It's a rail gun," Major Franklin stated. "Which also means it is higher velocity and longer range than the standard gunpowder driven shell."

"If Sky Net does not have to duplicate the human form, this is a more efficient means of attacking," Cameron noted.

"Where did Sky net build this thing?" John asked no one in particular.

Major Franklin let out a snort. "For the size of it, you could build one of these in a household garage. I bet it's some place under ground. Mrs. Weaver, did John Henry find out where the other ones went?"

"They destroyed themselves, most likely with termite. Sky Net could not afford to recover such cheap vehicles when doing so would give away where it's base is," Catherine stated. "By the construction, it can build fifty of these for the effort of building one T-800."

"The tunnels John Henry found, Sky net could be using them to distribute these machines to various locations," Cameron said.

"And it's first target was Allison," John said heavily.

Cameron looked at John and her daughter. "Yes, we are a large threat John, but Allison could be even a bigger threat to Sky Net. It wants to copy her."

Allison's eyes became round. "Daddy!" she cried. "It already has! Remember that girl that looked just like me?"

"That wasn't a copy of you, sweetie, that was a human girl," John explained in a gentle tone.

Cameron knew who Allison had met. Squatting down by Allison, Cameron said, "She is not a copy of you. I am a copy of her. Some day, when you can understand it, I will explain."

Allison frowned at her mother. "How can that be? You're older than we are."

"That is why I must tell you after you're old enough to understand. You were named after her," Cameron said.

"If you say so, Mommy," Allison said with a confused look on her face.

"One of the projectiles," Catherine said and handed a teardrop shaped object to Major Franklin.

"Solid." Major Franklin said as he hefted it.

"Yes, Hardened steel shell with a depleted uranium core," Catherine explained.

Looking at it, Major Franklin handed it to his General, saying, "This is not good. That shell is slightly larger diameter than the shot of an M-1 tank round. Driven by a rail gun, it's probably higher velocity. Delivered by a machine that is only what, three feet tall, maybe four wide and eight feet long? Oh yeah, it's self operating also."

"Your estimations of the dimensions are slightly diminished, but what you are saying is correct," Catherine Weaver said. "This vehicle has better firepower and range of your large battle tanks, and with the smaller profile it is easier to conceal itself and harder to hit."

"I wonder what else Sky Net has come up with?" John mussed.

.

In the years Sky Net had spent rebuilding, it got three vital projects completed. The tunnels under San Fransisco and the underwater facility was finished and in operation. The stealth submarines made there were carrying war machines and manufacturing drones to other parts of the world, as well as salvaging wrecks from the bottom of the ocean to remelt the usable steel to supply it's factories. It had tapped a major oil pipeline for it's refinery to fuel the new H/K's that sat waiting for the day they would needed, as well as fuel the missiles in underground silos. The all important base on a remote, mid pacific island was in operation, the factory there pumping out more war machines.

Even with all it's accomplishments with humans being none the wiser, it had failed again in attacking John Connor. Monitoring the data stream from the capture vehicle, it concluded the child of John Connor must be another terminator. Using human methods of reproduction, John Connor found a way to grow terminators. Although slow, the method was undetectable and over the long run, strategically more effective. It wanted that technology.

Sky Net sent it's T-800 into the Palmdale area to search for John Connor and his family. It was not to come in direct contact or engage until the destruction of all Sky Net's enemies could be completed swiftly and with 100 percent chance of success.

.

Allison sat in the Weaver lab, staring at the bank of monitors John Henry was watching. She picked up on the images flashing on the screens, but wasn't paying attention to them. To her side, her mother was involved with her own monitoring. For all the information reaching her senses, Allison wondered what Byron was doing right now. He was probably in school with Kate, Becky and Dan, with Gloria up front, handing out assignments and tests. They were talking about things, doing things and having a good time. She wondered if they missed her.

"Allison, what are you doing?" Cameron asked.

"Huh?" Allison asked as she snapped back to the present.

"You weren't doing your work. You were staring at John Henry," Cameron stated.

Allison had been staring in that direction. "Sorry mommy, I was just thinking about school. I really miss going," she said sadly.

"I know. It can't be helped. You still need to do your work," Cameron said sympathetically.

Allison looked down at her books. Once again, her friends had been taken away from her. She was still learning, but it was no longer fun. "I hate Sky Net," she grumbled.

"We do too, sweetie, we're doing our best to find it and get rid of it," Cameron told her.

Allison perked up at her mother's words. That was the first time she heard her mother call her sweetie like Daddy did. She offered her mother a smile, which was returned. Reluctantly, she went back to her assignment.

Today, Allison finished the last of her Second grade work. Second grade was done. Whoopee. She had no friends to share her accomplishment with. Second grade was done, and tomorrow she turned six. Big deal.

Walking home with her mother, Allison was wishing she was riding home from school. It was silly, but she really liked Byron calling her 'Christmas tree pretty', and the fun talks they had on just about everything. Thinking about school now left knot in her stomach. She couldn't help but think that once again, she'd lost her friends because of something she had done. Yes, she had saved the other Allison's ice cream from falling. She used her Hands in public and someone had seen. It was right after that the trouble started. It was her that had put all her friends in danger. If she hadn't done that, Becky would have had a nice party.

"I think it's best I don't go to school," Allison said as she watched the sidewalk in front of her.

Cameron put her arm around Allison's shoulders. "I'm sorry it has to be this way," she offered.

"Not your fault, Mom, it just sucks," Allison grumbled.

John got home not long after they did. They had a quiet dinner. After dinner, Allison didn't really feel like playing. She went in and sat on the couch with her parents, sitting on her Daddy's other side.

What they were watching was a story about older kids in school detention on a Saturday. Again, Allison's thoughts drifted away from what was going on in front of her and shifted to her old classroom. Dan would be wanting to perform his experiments that Gloria didn't allow, then complain because Becky, who had put more thought into hers, got to do her experiments. Kate would be the quiet one, always observing, and every week Byron would find a new language to tell Allison she was pretty, or find a reason to call her 'Christmas tree' pretty.

Suddenly, Allison burst into tears. She wasn't even sure why she did, and she couldn't stop. Daddy put his arm around her and before she knew it, she was in his lap, crying her eyes out on his chest. The soothing arms around her and the gentle way he petted her hair made her cry all the more. Snuggling into her Daddy's comforting embrace, Allison cried herself to sleep.

.

John held Allison,listening to her sniffle even though she was asleep in his lap. Meeting Cameron's sad look with his own, he quietly asked, "Anything happen today?"

"Allison misses going to school," Cameron replied.

"That much, huh?"

Cameron nodded and said, "When we left LA, she was sad, but she got right back into Dietrich. She's made friends there and was very happy. Sky Net knows where that school is at now. She can't go back there."

John thought for a moment, then said, "That man that followed us, he found us because we were driving her there every day."

"Yes, that must have been how," Cameron agreed.

"Do you think she'd be all right getting a dorm room at the school and come home on weekends?" he asked.

Cameron stared at John as she tipped her head.

"If they are looking for her, they'll be looking during the week when school is in session. They can't just walk in the school and not be discovered, so if they don't see us going to and from, they will determine we've moved on," John reasoned.

"That does make sense, but we won't see her all week. How will we know Allison is all right?"

"Daily phone calls?" John guessed. He then said a little firmer, "Cam, she's miserable. Think about it. I'll call the school and see if they will agree to her staying just during the week."

Cameron stared at him a little longer, head tipped to the side. She then nodded and said, "If you think that is best, John. We make it three daily calls, before breakfast, at lunch, and after dinner. "

.

John noted in the morning, Allison had gotten over her crying, but she still lacked the bounce she had before the attack during Becky's party. Her smile wasn't as bright and seldom seen. John left right after breakfast, getting to the communications center early where he worked in the computer lab. He finished his virus hunting program, then called Dietrich Academy.

"Miss Jacobs, may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Mr. Connor, Allison's father?..."

"Mr. Connor, yes! Tell me how is Allison? Was she recovered?" Miss Jacobs asked quickly.

"Yes, Miss Jacobs. Allison is fine, but she is really ..."

"Was she hurt? Tell me if there is anything we can do to help," Miss Jacobs said, interrupting him again.

"Well, that why I was calling. You see, Allison really misses going to school. Today's her birthday, so I wanted to ask..."

"Oh yes! There is still time to arrange a party for her," Miss Jacobs said eagerly.

John hadn't thought about that. He had his mind on getting her back in school. "Ah, yes that would be nice, Miss Jacobs. What I was calling about is the possibility of having Allison come back to school, and stay during the week in a dorm room so she won't be seen going back and forth every day."

"Absolutely! That can be arraigned. Some of her class mates have the same schedule. They are here all week, go home Friday night, and return Sunday night. Of course Allison can do the same. We will be happy to do that. Now, about that party..."

.

It was just another day for Allison. She went to the Weaver house with her mother, and spend her morning on history lessons learning about the ancient Egyptians. Lunchtime came and they had a small party celebrating her Sixth birthday. John Henry gave her a new hat and a cupcake with six candles on it.

"Make a wish just before you blow out the candles," John Henry told her with his goofy smile.

Allison did. She wished with all her heart that she could go back to school with her friends. She blew them out with one breath.

John Henry clapped. "Good Allison! You blew them all out. That means, according to folklore, that your wish will now come true," he said happily.

His good mood was infectious. Allison returned his smile, but wasn't sure if she dare to hope that she would be going back to school. She didn't want to feel bad when it didn't happen. She thanked John Henry for the nice lunch party, then they all went back to work.

Allison studied the afternoon away. She found that at least if she became absorbed in her books, she wouldn't think as much about learning all by herself. She finished the day with a few sheets of math questions on fractions.

Going home, Allison noted her mother tip her head slightly, then looked at her and smiled.

"What, Mommy?" Allison asked. It was like her mother had just found out something.

"You'll see when we get home," Cameron said with a grin.

Allison thought about it, and decided the odds were that her Daddy had gotten presents for her and decorated the house for her birthday. "Daddy has a surprise for me?" she asked.

"You'll see when we get there."

Approaching the house, Allison noted there were more cars parked on the side of the street. She had been half expecting a big 'happy birthday' banner on the house, but the house looked normal, and no lights were on inside. That was odd. Coming up to the door, her mother opened the storm door the said, "You first, Allison."

Allison thought that was odd too. Usually her mother entered first to ensure there were no threats, no matter where they went. Allison stepped into the dark house. She had just noticed heat sources around the room when the lights came on and people jumped up from behind furniture.

"**SURPRISE!"**

Allison's jaw dropped as everyone cheered. Daddy and Savannah were there, but so was Gloria, Dan, Becky, Kate, and Byron, all smiling at her. Allison dropped her book bag. She was surprised. Seeing her friends, a wash of happiness passed though her. Even though she was happy, she began to cry as she raced over and hugged Becky. Her next target was Gloria, then Dan, a run behind the couch to hug Kate and then Byron.

"OWWW! Not so tight!" Byron complained.

"Sorry," Allison said as she grinned ear to ear, gazing at him as she bounced in place. "I'm just so happy to see you!" she cried.

Allison had a great party with her family and friends. She opened her presents sitting by Byron. One looked like a wrapped card. She opened it to find a key with a tag on it marked 7G, a meal pass, and the card was the cafeteria schedule. She looked at her Daddy.

John smiled at the dazed face of his daughter. He explained in a stern tone, "You're going to need those if you're going to be staying at school during the week. Since it's dangerous to go back and forth every day, you'll go Sunday night, stay in your room at school during the week, then come home Friday nights after school. Keep in mind you'll be expected to behave yourself all week ..." John was silenced as Allison launched herself over to him, knocking him back in the chair as she hugged him tight.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Allison cried as John's eyes bulged out.

"You're crushing me," John got out in a weak gasp.

Allison let go and put her arms around his neck much more gently. "Thank you Daddy THANK YOU!"

"Thank your mother too, sweetie," John said with a pained chuckle.

Allison launched herself over and hugged her mother, which was better, because her mother wasn't fragile like Daddy and Gramma were. "Thank you so much Mommy!" she cried.

"You're welcome, Allison. I will be calling to check on you every day, morning, lunch and evening." Cameron told her as she took the full force of Allison's hug.

"OK, Mommy," Allison said happily. She then remembered their lunch. Pulling back, she said excitedly, "Mommy! It happened just like John Henry said it would! I made a wish to be able to go back to school before I blew the candles out, and it came true!"

"That's great, sweetie," John said as he rolled his shoulders, checking for broken bones from Allison's hug. At times, he forgot Allison was part terminator. Days like this reminded him.

.

Sunday night, John and Cameron helped Allison pack for her first full week at school. Cameron had rented a car so their vehicle would not been seen going to the school. Cameron made sure Allison had enough clothes for a fresh set every day, and packed all her nutrient supplements, stressing to Allison she had to make sure she used them at every meal. She gave Allison a new book bag with a compartment just for her nutrients.

Allison was back to her happy self as they loaded the car and drove to the school. Seeing someone else unloading, John waited until they left before driving up and unloading. Going up to Allison's room, John and Cameron noted Allison had her own bathroom, desk, and clothes closet in the decent sized room. Her room also faced the back, which meant it could not be seen from the road, which made them a little more relieved.

After getting Allison settled in, John made sure Allison's cell phone was on her bed table. Seeing a worried look on her face, he asked, "Allison, you sure you'll be OK here all week by yourself?"

Allison gave him a bounce of a nod. "Sure Daddy. Yeah, I'll miss being home, but I still can come home on the weekends. I was just worried about those bad things finding me and hurting people."

John offered her a smile and said, "As long as you do as Mommy told you, stay in the school and don't go out in front where people from the road can see you, and keep your phone with you at all times, everything should be fine."

"OK Daddy," Allison said. She then cast him a sheepish look and asked, "Daddy, could you tuck me in before you go?"

John laughed. "Sure, go get changed for bed." He watched her grab her pajamas and run into the bathroom. He also noticed Cameron bore her 'scary robot' blank look. "You OK, hon?" he asked.

"John, our child isn't going to be in her own bed. Maybe I should stay and keep her company," Cameron said in her flat tone.

"She'll be in her bed here," John reminded her.

"You won't be able to tuck her in tomorrow night, or for the rest of the week."

"No, I won't but we're going to call her every night, right?" John asked. He then noticed tears welling in Cameron's eyes. "You're going to miss her." he said.

Cameron nodded. "Allison has been with us since the day she was born. John, she won't be in her room down the hall tonight. I will not be able to monitor her safety."

John gathered his wife into a hug. "Our little girl is growing up, Cam. This is something she needs to do for herself. We have to let her do it."

Cameron hugged him back, snuggling tight against him. "I know this is the logical thing to do for Allison's benefit. Why don't I want her to stay here?"

Gently stroking her back, John whispered, "Because you love her and want to be there for her every second of every day. I feel the same way, hon. We're going to have to let go a bit more every year as she grows up. It's not going to be easy, but we must do what's best for Allison."

"Allison is not a baby any more."

"No, she's not," John agreed.

Cameron puled back and stared at John with her blank stare. "I like having a baby to take care of. I want another one."

Wearing a smirk, John said, "Well, lets see what we can do about that when we get home."

Cameron waited as Allison came out and climbed in bed. John tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead good night, then Cameron took her turn. She petted her daughter's cheek, amazed and very pleased with how intelligent and kind their little girl was. She was also impressed how Allison had destroyed that Sky Net machine. Her little girl rocked.

"Mommy, are you crying?" Allison asked.

Cameron wiped the tear away and smiled at her. "I am only happy for you and very proud of you, sweetie. Good night."

"Night, Mommy."

Cameron turned the light out and left with John, quietly closing the door behind them. On the way home, Cameron went through a mix of feelings. She was proud of their daughter, and at the same time, sad because John was right, Allison had to grow up. When Lucy had given her the DNA, she had also planted three egg cells in the lining of Cameron's womb that Cameron had made dormant. Sniffling and holding John's hand on the way home, she activated the second egg cell.


	10. Chapter 10

CH 10. Preparations for war

Sky Net had the pattern of human habit. Most worked five days a week, and stayed home or went out to do different things on 'the weekend' of two days. The terminator monitoring the Palmdale area had seen the rouge T-1001, and John Connor leave and return to the air force base there. It was safe to assume that the other rouge AI's were there also.

The chance at getting to the human made nuclear weapons was very small while the rouge AI's commanded the internet and all communications. Sky Net knew where enough weapons were to start the deadly exchange that would wipe out most of humanity, but to put that plan into action, it needed to get rid of the rouge AI's first. To be successful at that, it needed to cause a large enough distraction to keep anyone from helping the rouge AI's.

Supplies and war machines were now on every major continent. In the mid-east, it had acquired the knowledge of toxic gas weapons, and was manufacturing those. Gas weapons were more efficient, for that would kill humans and leave more resources intact for later use. Selecting the correct places to begin the attacks and using the symbols of the correct countries to attack their enemies, Sky Net developed a plan to get humans fighting each other.

At the eastern end of the Mediterranean sea, 800 waterproof tracked rail gun vehicles holding canisters of poison gas and with Iranian markings were placed just off the shore by Sky Net submarines. On a remote North Korean shoreline, a thousand more with 500 H/Ks bearing poison gas bombs were landed, bearing South Korean markings. In a remote mountainous area just inland off the coast of China, six thousand rail gun vehicles, 1000 H/K's and two hundred rocket launching pods were landed and set up, all the rockets bearing poison gas and aimed at the large cities. All of those machines bearing the rising sun markings of Japan. The last immediate duty of the submarines bearing Russian markings was to sit off the English coast, and off the US coasts, to surface and shoot missiles bearing poison gas into the cities there.

Once the transmission of all those units being in place arrived, the Sky Net could launch the diversions, then attack the true targets and get rid of those rouge AI's and John Connor.

.

The mini-stug design was easy to build, and with Cameron guiding them by remote control on a long range frequency, simple to operate. Cameron had her first war fighting machines, 5 mini-Stugs armed with copies of the rail gun they found on the original, as well as a .50 cal machine guns mounted on top.

In the new combat center, Cameron sat in a chair in front of a computer bank, while the brass sat watching a large monitor. The opponents for the war game against the mini-Stugs were six M-1 Abrams tanks, a pair of Attack helicopters, and a platoon of soldiers with TOW anti-tank missiles. Cameron's object was to get to the air field. The combined Army/Air force objective was to stop the mini-Stugs.

For the exercise, all vehicles and men were fitted with lazer receptors, all weapons fire a lazer beam that could be picked up by the receptors. If something received a lazer signal, it was considered dead/OOC.

The exercise started with a message, five unidentified enemy units were closing on the base. Search and destroy. Tanks rolled, helicopters took off, and men scrambled.

Cameron started out in the desert. Flat, dry and visual range for miles around in every direction. The first thing she did was send two Stug's out, looking for a dry wash. Finding one that angled towards the base, she got all five in the bottom of the shallow creek bed with only the machine guns and sensor arrays sticking up above ground level. Watching the sky and area around them, they headed for the base.

Upon seeing movement far to the right, all five stopped. Zooming in,Cameron noticed the top sensor globe on an attack helicopter. The pilot was being cautious, using cover as she was. A search of the horizon showed where the other one was, a mile to the right. Using triangulation from the front and rear vehicles, Cameron got the range, and aimed two machine guns at one helicopter, and two at the other one. Figuring the arc, she knew she could hit both of them. Lazer's didn't have an arc, but she'd still tag their sensors. She fired, and both sensors disappeared.

Turning all the Stugs, Cameron made them shoot up out of the dry wash and charge full speed towards the base. She went on for a mile then split her force, two left, two right and looked for cover for the center Stug. Coming upon a small rise, Cameron moved the center Stug up to just peak over the top. She moved the other pairs towards the base, each a half mile to the sides of the center Stug that was watching the horizon.

Fire came from the left. One Stug was hit. She positioned it's mate behind the wreck of the first, and found a tank, hull down about a mile and a half away. She stopped the other two Stugs in a shallow spot. Keeping the center Stug's optics looking for anything moving ahead of it, she turned the body towards where the tank was.

Ahead of the center Stug, a pair of tanks came racing at the remaining left Stug to finish it off. Using the center Stug, she hit the rear one first then the front one. To the far right, a tank had gotten around behind the pair of Stugs' there. Turning one around, she fired and got that tank. Identifying the positions of four out of six tanks, Cameron left the one Stug behind the 'wreck' of it's mate and charged on with three, spreading them evenly apart. With the control tower of the airfield showing in the distance, Cameron turned her Stugs to run parallel with the base. A soldier with a TOW launcher popped up, she fire the machine guns first, then turned all three Stugs to intercept that spot.

The tank watching her Stug behind the wrecked one moved out to help the base defenders. She moved her Stug out from behind cover and got it. Running that Stug towards the base, it got hit from a tank farther to the left. The three Stugs running fast, panned their machine gun fire over the defense trench as they sped at it. Jumping the trench, she stopped two to 'kill' the soldiers she could see. While the soldiers were busy with those two Stugs, the last one ran onto the airfield and stopped in the center of the runway.

The Air Force General was pissed. The Army General and Major Franklin were impressed.

"Cameron, can you tell us how you did that so easily?" Major Franklin asked.

"Yes. There were a known number of enemies. The largest threat was the helicopters. They could call in fire as well as shoot themselves. Being used for recon, the defender made them easy targets. The tanks were the next biggest threat. Once I had four down, and knew where the other two were, that threat was minimized. I left one Stug farther out to keep the rest of the tanks busy. The platoon had TOW launchers, and were spread out. Once I found the location of one and took it out, that made a hole to get onto the base. Leaving two Stugs to keep the platoon busy allowing me to drive the last Stug onto the runway, achieving the goal of the exercise. What I did was basic tactics."

"So, your planned worked just like you wanted it to?"

"Better. I had anticipated sixty percent losses, but only suffered forty percent losses," Cameron said.

"Call in all forces for a debriefing. Excellent work, Cameron," Major Franklin told her.

.

The debriefing proved the usefulness of the mini-Stugs. The helicopters hadn't even seen them. Most of the tank crews hadn't been able to get a shot off before the Stugs did, and the men were simply overwhelmed by them. Costing only a hundred grand each, and able to take out multi-million dollar tanks and helicopters, General Abram promised to get the funding in next year's budget for a minimum of twenty more mini-Stugs.

Cameron told them she would fund twenty machines today, and strongly recommended a sharp increase in attack drone construction. The Zeita corporation had the ability to make them, so Cameron gave Catherine the contract for them. Having already made the prototypes, Zeita was ready to start cranking out mini-Stugs.

.

John Connor worked with Cameron and came up with a partially independent operating program for the Mini-Stugs. Once set on a target, the Stug, or a group of Stugs would keep attacking the same target until it was destroyed, allowing Cameron to focus more on the over all battle.

While they worked at fine tuning the controls, Sarah Connor was concentrating on home defense. Sarah Connor believed in bunkers capable of surviving a nuclear exchange. There was already a bunker system for the Air Force base for the airfields and the command centers. She worked at making one under their house. When not at work on their mini-Stug projects, Cameron and John helped dig a deep cellar and put in the emergency generator and block walls as the bunker grew.

During all this, Cameron never missed her daily calls to Allison.

Early one morning, Cameron lay in bed beside her sleeping husband that was holding her close in the classic spoon. Normally, she would have checked the perimeter and gotten work done on their bunker before calling Allison. Last night, however, after a vigorous love making session, Cameron lay holding John and felt a pleasant sensation.

She was hungry. The last time she'd been hungry was when she was carrying Allison. Her body was calling for nutrients and rapidly using up her stored supply. That mean she was pregnant. Lying there, she performed a self diagnostic and confirmed the fact the second egg had been fertilized, and was growing. What surprised her was the third egg had also fertilized. That meant twins. To celebrate conceiving, she stayed with John all night, relishing the fact she was going to have more children.

.

"OK, Mommy, you have a good day too, Bye," Allison said and closed up her phone. Getting used to her room, Allison was having a good time at school. She had her 'school' mind set, and her 'home' mind set. While at home, she told her parents what she did during the week, and spent time going places, watching TV and having fun with her parents. During school, she focused on studying and after classes, doing things with her friends.

Both Becky and Byron had dorm rooms and went home on the weekends like she did. Dan stayed at school the whole school year. Some nights they watched documentaries on TV, others they played games. Allison found out she 'kicked ass' at chess, at least that's how Dan described how well she played.

Another game she found was interesting was a computerized war game involving the American Civil War. In this game, it wasn't just the 'pieces' marking the opponents that were important, but also so was transportation, the ability to trade with other places, how good your generals were, and the condition of the soldiers. If they didn't get their supplies of food, clothing and ammunition, the soldiers were sluggish and performed poorly. If they lost a string of battles, or were new recruits, that also affected how well they fought. Having resources also affected how well your army did, as did how many things you could 'invent'. When they played this game, Byron and Allison chose the south, teaming up against Dan and Becky. Allison liked being on the southern side because it was the more difficult side to play. The slightest mistake meant disaster, many times unrecoverable. The one time Byron and Allison won – by keeping a hole open in the sea blockade, denying the Union the use of the Mississippi river, and performing a surprise invasion of the North combined with a successful assault that isolated Washington, they literally jumped with joy.

School work was going well also. Allison was well into third grade and doing 'side studies' of math and science. Allison found she loved astronomy. The school had a telescope on the roof inside it's own protective dome. Some nights she and Byron would sit at the telescope and find the bodies they had been learning about to see them first hand instead of just in a text book.

Having lunch the day after Allison had completed her Third grade studies, she decided to do only her side studies for a while, She took her usual place across from Becky and beside Byron. Pulling out her shakers of nutrients, she gave her food a light coating as usual.

Byron eyed her and asked, "How does that taste? I know you need it but, is it good?"

"I think so."

"Can I try?"

Allison winced. "Not a good idea," she she told him. "These are made for my different makeup. I don't think it would be good for you to eat them."

"You might get sick," Becky added.

"Yeah, guess you're right," Byron admitted.

"Excuse me, you're name is Allison, right?"a boy asked as he sat down with them.

"Yes."

"I'm Jerome Potter from junior class two? I've been doing some studying, and I think I know why you got those things sticking out of your head."

"Really? You know about Lucy?" Allison asked.

"Lucy?" Jerome asked. "Is she an Annunaki too?"

"I think Lucy is a yokai," Allison told him.

"Ah, OK, so that's what they called themselves," Jerome said with a nod. "See the ancient Sumerian texts called them Annunaki. They were here like a hundred thousand years ago, according to the Sumerians, Anyway, the Sumerian stone tables recorded people with horns on their heads that lived here and did amazing things. They taught humans how to do ... just about everything from how to plow fields to how to build buildings and ships, math, and everything. Anyway, some of these Annunaki mated with humans. I think that there are some, like your mother that had latent genes. That's why you have those protrusions," he said triumphantly.

"Ah, not exactly," Allison said. "Mom couldn't have a baby by herself, so Lucy, Mommy's friend, gave her DNA so Mommy could have me."

Jerome grinned at her. "So, is Lucy still here?" he asked excitedly.

"No, Lucy lives with her family. I don't know where. I've only seen her one time, when she came to offer me a school to go to." Allison explained. "Lucy went back to wherever it is she lives."

"Did she like come and go on a flying saucer?" Jerome asked eagerly.

"No, she appeared in the back yard, talked to Mommy, then disappeared. She was there, then she wasn't."

"Really, like teleportation?"

"What's that?"

"Suddenly leaving one spot to appear in another."

"OK, yeah, Lucy did that," Allison agreed.

Clenching his fists, Jerome cried, "All right! This is PROOF the ancients were right. We have been visited by aliens, and they are still here!"

"Um, Lucy is a yokai," Allison told him again.

"Her race doesn't matter, she's from another planet!" Jerome explained happily. "That means you're one of these yokai too!"

"Not all yokai," Allison told him. "I do have Lucy's horns and her Hands, but I got Mommy's bones and Daddy's smart brain."

"Yeah, you're a hybrid, but you ARE part alien."

"Yokai."

"Yeah, Yokai. You are also living proof they exist!"

Allison frowned at him and said, "So? You're living proof your parents exist too. What's the big deal?"

Jerome gapped at her and let out a chuckle. "OK, here's the big deal," he said and tapped the table with a finger. " You see, all the professional scientists think the Annunaki the Sumerians wrote about were nothing but a myth. BUT, there is too much evidence to the contrary. The Sumerians had a better grasp of our solar system than we do now. They knew about all the planets at least six thousand years before us, and they count twelve planets, not nine, ten if you count Pluto. They said their knowledge came from these Annunaki. HOW could the Sumerians have known about any of the outer planets when they supposedly didn't even have telescopes? We didn't know about Pluto until 1934, and it was exactly where the Sumerians said it would be."

"OK, so they were smart," Allison agreed.

"Not just smart! They got information from the ... Yokai, like this Lucy your mother knows," Jerome beamed.

Allison shrugged and said, "So, the scientists are wrong. Scientific opinion has been wrong before. Once,long ago they swore the earth was flat, which it obviously isn't."

"That's my point. To advance science we need to make them see the truth," Jerome stated. "Can I put up a web video of you to prove to people that you exist?"

Allison gapped at him. "What? ...No! Jerome, there are ... things after my family. If you put something up about me, they will come after me again!"

"Again?" he asked.

"Yes! Don't you remember Becky's party? That thing called Sky Net tried to kidnap me. If you put something up where it can see me, it's going to cause trouble. Maybe get someone hurt or killed. You can't do that!"

"I heard about Sky Net, that's the crazy AI that wanted to kill everyone, right?"

"Yes, and it's after me," Allison said, then begged, "Please, Jerome, once Mommy and John Henry find Sky Net and get rid of it, I will help you get the truth out. Right now, it's too dangerous."

"Oh, wow," Jerome said quietly. "I guess it is. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"I'm happy you can prove your theory about what the ancient people wrote, but you can't tell anyone yet," Allison explained.

Jerome dropped his head and let out a huff. "Well, this really sucks!" he grumbled. "I know, but you're right, we can't tell anyone."

"Hold on," Becky said. "This means Allison doesn't have metal bones and her abilities from evolution taking it's course?"

Jerome eyed her. "Allison has metal bones?" he asked.

"Yeah, just like my mom," Allison told him. Turning to Becky, she said, "Maybe that is how evolution works, by slightly different species getting together and making something new."

"How did your mom get metal bones?" Jerome asked.

"Mom's a cyborg."

"What planet is she from?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know. I'll ask, OK?"

"This does explain something," Becky said. "We all are different from the rest of Earth's primates. Every other primate has 24 chromosomes, but we have 23. We also have much thinner bones than even the nearest primate to us, which what science thinks now, was Neanderthal. Maybe cro-magnon. The thing is, we are different, this ann ... whatever they are may be why."

"Then why don't we have horns and invisible Hands like Ally?" Byron asked.

Becky shrugged. "None of our ancestors were cyborgs," she said.

"That makes sense for the bones, but not the other things," Byron countered.

"Um, what are these invisible hands?" Jerome asked.

Pointing to the end of the table, Byron asked, "Ally, could I have the salt on the end there?"

Allison nodded. Reaching out over everyone, she grabbed the salt with an invisible hand and brought it over to set it in front of Byron's plate.

"Wow," Jerome said, staring at the salt as it drifted past him. "You can levitate things too. That's awesome."

To shorten Jerome's curiosity, Allison said, "Our class did a scientific study on my abilities. I'm sure Gloria can show you the findings if you ask."

"OK, yeah, I'd like that."

Miss Jacobs came in and clapped her hands. Loudly she said, "Everyone! Come with me to the Auditorium immediately! Leave your lunch trays there, everyone come now."

"What's up?" Byron asked as he got up.

"The teachers will tell us," Becky assured him.

Miss Jacobs hustled them all out. In the hallway, Allison noted Gloria was monitoring the flow, keeping them pointed in the right direction. As they went in, teachers were calling their students to separate areas of seats, counting heads. Gloria went in the middle rows, calling her students over to her to make sure they were all there. Once everyone was inside, the doors were shut.

"Do we have a lecture?" Byron asked.

"We're not in trouble, are we?" Dan asked.

"Just sit down, Miss Jacobs will explain," Gloria said, then took her set at the end of her class.

Miss Jacobs took the stage, looking nervous. "Everyone's attention please! Teachers, is there anyone missing?" She waited a moment then said, "We have just learned there is a missile attack in progress on the United States. Several cities along both coasts, including Los Angeles, have been hit with poison gas attacks. At the moment, the military is doing their best to stop these attacks. The auditorium is sealed and has it's own filtered ventilation system. If there is any danger of poison gas around the school this system will be shut off and the damper will close, ensuring no harmful gas gets in here. The chance of us getting gassed is slim, though possible, so we are taking every precaution to ensure your safety. Everyone, remain calm. I am sure that soon, this will be over."


	11. Chapter 11

CH 11. First Battle of Palmdale

Cameron heard the world going crazy. Gas attacks on the US and England by submarine, Iran was invading Israel, the Chinese were being attacked by the Japanese, North and South Korea had restarted a full-blown war. Official channels were swarming with traffic as American forces rushed to help their allies and identify the attackers. Civilian channels were overrun with traffic as the world tried to figure out what was happening.

"It's Sky Net," John Henry stated.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "Which means we are most likely to be hit next." The phone service was jammed with calls and the Internet was slowed to a crawl. She hoped John would do the smart thing and take shelter as she powered up the fifteen mini-Stugs she had in service, and tapped into the radar and sensors surrounding the base. Just as she noted radar blips coming in from the north, the air raid alarm sounded. They were in for a fight.

General Abram called on the overhead speaker, "Incoming bogeys bearing zero zero three, range one eight five miles, speed two hundred thirty knots. Air Force is deploying alert fighters. Ground teams, make ready all anti-aircraft, all ground troops arm and stand ready in the bunkers. Deploy mini-Stugs."

"Already on it," Cameron said. She brought the Stugs out of the hanger and drove them to the edge of the base in a fan covering the northern approaches.

New radar blips showed up, moving fast.

The speaker announced, "Incoming missiles at Three Three Six, engage."

Cameron turned all her Stugs to face the missiles. Figuring the optimum intercept range, she adjusted the rail guns. Except for maybe one missile, they would be outside machine gun range. Timing the missile speed and the speed of her projectiles, she fired her guns, then immediately repositioned her Stugs for a second shot.

A few of the incoming signatures went away. A launch of interceptor missiles shot out from the base racing out to take down five more. Acquiring her targets, she fired the Stug guns again. The targets being closer and accuracy of their location higher, the high speed rail guns took out eight more missiles, leaving five remaining. She also notice another wave of missiles inbound. Cameron readjusted her aim, and took out the remaining five.

Of the four fighters that had taken off from the base, two were left, engaged with a few incoming bogeys. The rest of the bogeys were on their way in as more aircraft took off to intercept them. A quick look from a Stug close enough to see the airfield showed fighters and helicopters were out and making preparations to join the fight. Those missiles were headed for the air field.

Another Stug picked up H/K's flying in fast only thirty feet off the ground. "H/K's inbound from the north, close and fast," Cameron announced as she turned the machine guns to open fire on them. With missiles coming in, she had to keep the rail guns pointed to intercept them. Shooting at the engines, her Stugs scored hits. Engines exploded and H/K's spiraled into the ground. Two got through.

The H/K's that shot over Cameron's defense line opened fire on a jet taking off, turning it into a ball of fire. They went down the line of planes waiting to take off, blowing up every aircraft.

A helicopter got in the air and took out one H/K with a missile, it shot the second one the same time the H/K downed it. Three more helicopters took to the air.

Cameron thinned out the incoming missiles again. This time, only a few interceptor missiles raced out to meet them. On her second shots, Cameron downed nine more. The main pack of H/K's were over the base now, destroying things at will. The fuel depot went up, the helicopters that had made it into the air were destroyed, and the hangers were blown up. Cameron made her third shot, downing ten missiles. Six made it through and exploded not on the airfield as she suspected, but in the housing areas. Seeing no other missiles incoming, she turned her Stugs to fight the H/K's. As she did, she took a scan around the area.

Coming from the north east, she counted thirty mini-Stugs approaching, and more dust clouds indicating at least that many more.

"Ground attack from zero four five!" Cameron announced. Three mini-Stugs were in the best position to engage the Sky Net Stugs. She used these three to meet the threat as the others continued to target H/K's.

The three Stugs sat hull down, shooting rail gun fire rapidly as possible at the attacking Stugs. They did well while the Sky Net Stugs were traveling fast. They took out one after another, wrecking eighteen vehicles. Up to this point, her Stugs had been all but ignored by the attacking forces. Now, they were the only thing left the base had for defense.

The Sky Net Stugs stopped and zeroed in on the three. She got three more, then a hail of rail gun fire ripped through her three, destroying them. H/K's descended upon her Stugs from the air. She downed H/K's with rail gun and machine gun fire, and lost one Stug after another. The Sky Net Stugs also joined the fight, ripping into her remaining units. Her view of the battle was lost when her last Stug took out an H/K with it's machine gun, and put a rail gun round through two Sky Net Stugs, then her contact was lost.

"John Henry, they got all my Stugs. The base has no defense left." Cameron announced.

"Yes, we've lost. Radar is gone, all communications are down. Expect to loose satellite links and cell service shortly," John Henry said.

"John Henry, help me disable the Internet, quickly before we loose the satellites," Cameron commanded. The attack on them made perfect sense, if Sky Net silenced them, it could control the Internet and gain access to military computers.

Sending out viruses and worms, Cameron and John Henry shut down nodes and servers across North America before they lost satellite comms. That was their last victory, a high speed shell came though the concrete wall. Blasting them with chunks of concrete that ripped through their clothes and skin as the shell passed through the room, the shell shattered the other wall on it's way out. The force of the impacts crumbled both walls. The ceiling buckled, threatening to trap them.

In the now dark room lit only by large holes and the sparks and arcs of shorting equipment, Cameron and John Henry escaped the lab. Completely in terminator mode, Cameron ran to the weapons locker and got out the grenade launchers and a pair of thirty caliber machine guns. She passed one machine gun to John Henry, and a two grenade launchers, keeping three for herself.

"We only have a few, make them count," Cameron told the half skinless T-888 who only had a little of John Henry's face left.

"We need to find Savannah and John." John Henry stated. "Savannah is in school she will be safe for the moment. John is the higher priority, he is in immediate danger."

"Yes, and do so without getting hit by one of those Stugs or the H/K's," Cameron agreed.

Machine gun fire ripped through the walls. Belly level, the half spent slugs punched though their soft flesh but did no damage to their endoskeletons. Cameron went to a window to see a pair of Stugs rolling down the street, spraying houses with with bullets.

They were out to kill everyone here.

Cameron ran to the garage and peeked out the door there. The street, was clear. She looked up, not seeing any H/K's hovering over them. Listening, she did here the whine of their jet engines. They did not sound close. Cameron broke a hole in the side wall of the garage and looked up. The sky above them was clear. She ripped a large enough hole in the wall to get through. Climbing out, she searched for machines as John Henry climbed out with her.

Her cell phone rang. It was Allison.

"Allison! Where are you?" Cameron asked as she to ran behind houses, keeping a close watch out.

"We all had to come into the auditorium. The teachers said there is a gas attack, we'd be safe here. Mommy, are you OK?"

"Allison, can you see outside?"

"No, there's no windows here. What's happening?" Allison asked in a frightened voice.

"Remember those machines that came and tried to kidnap you? They're back, many of them. Do not go anywhere and stay away from any windows unless the building is attacked. Hide as long as possible. If you are forced to go outside and you see one of those things, destroy it as fast as you can," Cameron said sternly.

"This is scary Mommy," Allison whined.

"Yes, it is. Keep your wits about you. Listen and watch, Daddy and I will be there as soon as we can. I have to go, say calm and focused." Cameron hung up and kept heading toward the science building where John was working. Gunfire, screams and a few pleas for mercy that went unheeded filled the air. Cameron had not heard such sounds since before she had come back through time to protect John. She feared Judgment day was at hand.

.

The moment the air raid alarm sounded, John and the other workers were hustled into the underground shelter. Unfortunately, no one had any guns. Not long afterwards, the rumble of explosions sounded from above. Then the lights went out and the emergency lights came on. Shortly after that, the emergency lights went out, and the backup battery powered light left them in a dim glow.

There was a war going on above his head, and John was stuck down here, unable to help.

.

Sarah Connor grabbed an AK 47 the moment the air raid siren went off. Going outside, she saw planes taking off, then interceptor missiles launching. Quickly, she ran though her head where everyone was. Cameron was with John Henry, in a concrete building. John was in the science building that had a bomb proof basement. Allison was at school, and Sky Net knew where that was.

Running back into the house, she grabbed some extra clips for the rifle, a 9 MM with the armor piercing rounds, and stuffed her pockets with extra clips for that. Racing back out to her jeep, she got in and tore off for the school.

As Sarah raced off base, Missiles exploded in the air and raced overhead. People were out, gawking at the fight in the sky. "Fools!" she snapped as she drove down the road at break-neck speed. Making the main road, she passed people who had stopped to gape at the H/K's now coming into view. More fools who'd be dead soon.

The only thing that puzzled Sarah was the lack of nuclear explosions. She fully expected seeing giant mushroom clouds, but so far, the sky was clear of them. She had to get to Allison before the nukes landed. She drove fast until she got to the school. Sarah checked the area before going up the driveway.

Sarah's cell phone rang. "Speak!" she commanded.

The tones for the old judgment day, their code, came over the speaker. She replied with the same.

"Sarah, where are you?" came Cameron's voice.

"On my way to get Allison. What's your situation?"

"We lost all our defenses, do not bring Allison back to the base. Sky Net is on the base in force. Take Allison anywhere there is not a large population."

"Where's John?"

"I am hoping he is in the science building bunker. I'm on my way there now. I'll call when ..." Cameron said, then the connection cut off.

Sarah screeched to a stop by the front doors and ran in the school building. The front desk was vacant. She ran from room to room, finding no one. Had Sky Net gotten here already? By the lack of bodies, she didn't think so. Sarah checked every room as she strode along, breaking doors open as needed, and expecting to see a terminator at any time.

.

Cameron peeked around the corner of a half destroyed building. Beside the bodies laying around, many of them soldiers in this area, she saw a Stug facing down another street. She had to go this way, so she fired a grenade right above the road wheels towards the back of the machine. The grenade hit. The explosion was small, but the sparks flying up told her she'd made the critical hit on the machine's power plant. She surveyed the area for any more. A piece of her forehead skin dropped down to impair her vision. She ripped it off. It was clear, she ran to the next cover, the side of the destroyed Stug.

Mentally, Cameron counted the number of Stugs she had destroyed. Assuming approximately sixty had attacked, there were roughly twenty five left. She only had two more RPG's. The only good thing about the Sky Net Stugs was they had dual machine guns or the rail gun, not both like hers had. Seeing the way was still clear, she and John Henry ran to the next cover, the wrecked building beside the demolished science building. Ducking into cover, she heard an H/K approach.

"John Henry, we hide and wait until it goes away," Cameron said.

The H/K hovered for a moment around the ruins of the Stug, then lifted up and moved over to the structure they had shot it from. It dropped a bomb down into the building. The bomb exploded not in a loud boom of fire and smoke, but a softer thud. A cloud of gas poured from every opening. The gas did not rise up, but poured out along the ground. The H/K moved on.

"They are gassing any survivors," John Henry noted.

"I have to find John," Cameron said, stress leaking through her flat tone. Heavy gas would flow down into bunkers.

A few H/K's rose up and all flew in the same direction. A couple passed by overhead and joined them. Off in the distance a fighter jet turned after shooting a missile at the H/K's. This was their best chance. Cameron checked for Stugs, then bolted to the remains of the science building.

.

Sarah came to the double doors of what looked like an auditorium. She pushed, they were locked from the inside. She heard scared sounding voices beyond. "Allison!" she screamed.

Outside, a jet engine roared by.

"ALLISON! If you're in there, we gotta go, NOW!" Sarah screamed.

The door flung open, Allison jumped out wrapped her arms around Sarah's thighs to lift her off her feet and ran back into the auditorium, Sarah barely holding onto her rifle as Allison got her inside and the door slammed shut. Allison put Sarah down and quickly said, "Gramma! Gas can't get in here, we're safe!" She then noticed the rifle Sarah was holding. "Gramma, why do you have a gun?"

Flustered at being whisked in and planted back on her feet, Sarah glared at Allison. "Hon, no where is safe. Sky Net is on the ground and searching to kill people. I know these things. If there's a building, they will come and kill everyone inside. We have to go, once they finish with the base they will be working their way here."

Gasps and moans of agony filled the room. Allison asked her most pressing question. "Where Mommy and Daddy?"

"I don't know hon, but I do know we need to leave." Turning to the crowd of teachers and students, she said loudly, "WE ALL need to leave and head for rural areas!"

"The military is at that base, won't they fight this... Sky Net?" a man in glasses and a tweed sweater asked.

"The military there is already defeated, Sky Net is on the base, and once they finish killing people there, they will spread out and eventually come here," Sarah told him.

The man said, "We're not soldiers, we don't believe in ..."

"GET THIS!" Sarah snapped, glaring at him. "Sky Net doesn't care what you believe in, it wants to exterminate humanity. Got that? It wants to wipe us ALL out. It takes no prisoners, it does not accept surrender. You either fight back, flee or die!"

Stiffening herself, Allison said, "I'll fight, Gramma! That's what Daddy and Mommy do, right?"

Sarah looked at Allison and patted her on the head. "Right, hon, we Connors fight. Before you fight though, you have to learn. So for the moment, we run so we can fight when we're ready."

"We don't have enough cars here to take all the children," a wide-eyed Miss Jacobs said.

"We don't go by car," Sarah told her. "We gather all the supplies you can carry, and walk on foot through the woods. The trees will cover us. If you take off in a car, you will be seen and possibly killed by their H/K's"

"H/K's?"

"Hunter Killers. Drone aircraft that have the sole purpose of killing humans."

"Allison!" Becky said as she ran up to them. "Give me your key, I'll get the blankets and some clothes out of your room when I get mine. Go help get food."

Sarah clarified her idea with an order. "All you kids, go get some clothes and a blanket, ONLY what you can carry! Faculty, get the food and some medical supplies. Be quick and meet me at the garden side entrance. If you see anything outside like a tracked vehicle or an aircraft, get to that side entrance PRONTO and tell people along the way. COME ON PEOPLE, MOVE IT!"

Sarah stepped to the side. People flooded out the doors to go fulfill her orders

"What about Mommy and Daddy?" Allison asked frantically.

Sarah put a hand on Allison's shoulder and said, "Your Mommy is trying to find your Daddy. Once they find each other, they will call me. Until then, we pack up and move as quickly as we can. Go," she said, and gave Allison a nudge.

.

Outside Los Angeles, Catherine Weaver was checking on the mini-Stug production schedule. Cameron had ordered and paid for twenty. Catherine knew that wasn't going to be enough, so she went to full production. The initial ten were build getting the production line operating and working out bugs and choke points out of the system. The first ten took a month to build, the second ten that were now in the final test phase took two weeks. The next ten would take eight days. She was pushing for two completed units a day. Unlike the first units that were made out of quarter inch steel plate, the new ones were made of half inch plate with extra inch and a half thick front, rear and top with reactive armor covering them. Redesigning the upper surfaces, she abandoned the boxy look for a rounded turtle shell design to help deflect incoming projectiles. The steep slope made the total two inch armor thickness effectively five inches thick. Atop the rounded hull was the domed machine gun and sensor turret. Lacking any other ideas for color schemes/markings, she had them painted a dull green base with brown camo splotches. A brown stencil across the back read 'Connor'.

The missiles began hitting the city as she was watching the tenth unit of this group return from it's trial run. The ninth one was in the paint bay, another process she'd have to speed up.

"Mrs Weaver!" her lead tech man called as he came running up to her. "I just heard, we're being attacked by missiles. So far, eight have landed in the city, they are releasing clouds of poison gas."

Not looking him, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Murch." She called the plant manager and told him, "There is a gas attack in the city. Take precautions and seal the plant as much as possible. Get the finished units fully charged and loaded with ammunition. We will be needing them very soon. We will also need ten remote drivers."

Mr. Murch asked, "What about the flatbeds? Trucks are suppose to be coming."

"And if the truck drivers were gassed, when do you think they will arrive?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "We will drive these units up to the Air Force base under their own power."

Mrs. Weaver then got a burst message from John Henry that the base was under attack.

"It appears we need then now," she mussed.

It took an agonizingly long time to prep the new Stugs for departure. All the units were loaded with the only rail gun ammunition they had, the tear drop solid shot rounds made to pierce armor. The last Stug was left unpainted, getting only hastily sprayed green and brown blotches from spray cans. "Connor' was written on the back the same way.

With the remote drivers ready at their stations, the Stugs left, taking a cross country route to avoid the jammed roads filled with people fleeing the city. Catherine Weaver was upset the drivers weren't soldiers, only test drivers and a couple factory workers. She had to get these units in John Henry and Cameron's range for them to be effective fighting vehicles. She tried to call Cameron, but her cell phone was dead. A burst to John Henry went unanswered. This was not good.

.

With the H/Ks occupied with the attacking fighters that bore Navy markings, Cameron and John Henry got into the science building. Making their way through the debris of downed beams and collapsed ceilings, they found the stairway to the bunker. Partially filled with rubble, they cleared out chunks of ceiling, careful not to disturb debris that was under pressure from above. Making a path down to the steel doors, Cameron found a speaker unit on the wall. The two lights at the bottom of the speaker were out. She knocked on the door.

A panel in the door opened. "State your name," a voice said.

"Cameron Connor and John Henry. Is anyone in there injured?" Cameron asked.

"No, what's the situation outside?"

"Total ruin. Sky Net is on the base, all defenses are destroyed. Is John Connor in there?"

"Here!" Came John's voice. "We're fine, Cam, Where's mom?"

"Sarah went to get Allison, I told her to get away and go to a rural area. John, Sky Net is using poison gas, and has approximately twenty five mini-Stugs around the base. They are using poison gas bombs from the H/K's , bunkers are not safe long term, and we do not have any hope of help short term. We need to leave while the Navy jets are keeping them occupied."

"What happened to our Stugs?"

"Destroyed. I got forty Sky Net mini-Stugs all but six of their gas missiles and twenty four H/K's, before I lost the last one. Once they destroy or drive off the Navy fighters, the H/K's will be back and out chance to run will be gone."

"These doors open out, can we get them open?"

Cameron scanned the debris around her and said, "Yes, but not very far."

Pushing from the inside as Cameron broke away some debris and pulled from the outside, they got the doors open far enough for people to slip though one at a time. John Henry stayed at the top of the stairs, guiding people up through the twisted wreckage and watching for Mini-Stugs.

John wiggled through the opening and eyed Cameron. The left side of her forehead, cheek and left eye were laid bare, only bits of eye remained hanging down, showing the red orb behind it. Her left shoulder and mid rib area was bare metal, ruined flesh dangling down. She was covered in blood, and had five holes across her abdomen at belly button level, all leaking blood.

"Cam, are you all right?" he asked, shocked at seeing her condition.

"I am fully functional. We need more weapons. We can scavenge from the dead soldiers outside," She stated flatly.

John nodded and threaded his way up the stairs. Looking outside, he noted the entire base had suffered the same fate as this building. Wreckage was everywhere. Beside a burning tank lay camo clad bodies. John set a couple people to watch, and ran out to collect weapons. The only useful one he found was a TOW launcher with one missile left and a thirty caliber machine gun. He took the machine gun. Overhead, a jet exploded. The H/K that destroyed it raced by and angled away to rise back into the fight. He didn't see any mini-Stugs. He picked up the TOW launcher that was loaded with the last missile.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mini-Stug appear down the street. John ducked behind the tank and watched it. The mini-Stug stopped in front of the shattered command center. Another appeared to roll up a few yards away from the first. Then a large man walked up to the building. A T-800, John was sure of it.

"Great," John said in a huff. Their attention was on the command center, so he ran back to the science building. He just gotten back inside when another Stug came from the other way and rolled down the street past him.

Most of the people were out. John held up the TOW launcher and asked, "Anyone know how to use this?"

"I do, I was in the marines," a man said.

John handed it to him, cautioning, "You only have one shot, make it count."

"John Connor," John Henry said, "Another Sky Net mini-Stug is headed for the command post. They will try to get into the bunker there."

"Yeah," John agreed with a huff. So far, they had four RPG's and a TOW launcher. He wanted to go save the command staff, but any weapons fire would bring all the Sky Net forces down on them. "There's at least one T-800 over there too."

"We've got to do something," the man with the TOW launcher said.

John thought hard. The Sky Net units were facing the Command center. They would not be able to shoot behind themselves, they'd have to turn around. They also had thin plating. The .30 cal he had was capable of punching holes in them. "John Henry, how many H/K's are left out there?"

John Henry tipped his head. After a pause, he said, "I only hear eleven. Some could be outside my hearing range."

"And Jets?"

"Six."

"All right!" John announced. "If you don't know how to shoot a weapon, go with John Henry here. If you do and you're willing to fight, you're coming with me to attack those mini-Stugs. We pick up weapons as we go. John Henry, get the rest of these people off the base the fastest, safest way you can. Head straight for LA over land, they will be expecting you to head for Palmdale."

Making the top of the stairs, Cameron came over to John, tilting her head. "John, what are you doing? We need to leave."

"We will, just as soon as we go get the command staff," he said firmly. He then announced, "People! Make your choice, we're moving out now."

.

Sky Net had underestimated the resistance the base had the capability of putting up. Very few of it's missiles had gotten through, seventy five percent of it's ground units were lost, as was sixth percent of it's aerial units. The base had yet to be completely swept, and there were too many escape routes open.

Human aerial units were arriving and delaying a sweep even further. Re-calculating the number of units needed to complete the sweep, Sky Net launched fifty more aerial units and fifty more ground units to the base. Most of the humans had been reported dead, but the AI's were still evading destruction.

The rouge AI's had been cut off from outside communication. That goal had been achieved. Unfortunately, the computer net had collapsed, Sky Net still could not get a connection to interface with any human computers. It was free to send Satellite radio wave signals to it's own forces, but it cold not access the weapons it wanted.

The diversion attacks were going better than the main attack. In China, North Korea and Israel, it's units were clearing the field of human military and slaughtering hundreds of thousands directly, and even more from the attacked countries making retaliatory strikes on those they thought were responsible. It was growing into world wide chaos, but those few rouge AI's that were the main target, refused to be destroyed.

If the sweep was not completed soon by the extra unit's it sent the humans would gather enough forces to win the battle. Sky Net set a time limit on the attack. After that time, all remaining units were to suicide into humans, killing as many as possible. It also sent out the commands to build more units and ship some from it's remote island facilities.

Sky Net was going eliminate those rouge AI's.


	12. Chapter 12

CH12 Woodland battle :Allison VS Sky Net

Allison had that funny knot in her stomach again. Besides some clothes in stuffed in her book bag and her blanket rolled up atop of it on her back, she carried three large boxes of canned goods floating beside her with her invisible Hands. They walked along through the woods just like Gramma Sarah said, at an easy pace and watching all around them. Gramma Sarah was up front, Allison's class were gathered around her, following Gloria. Being short, Allison couldn't see very far, so she listened.

Right after they left all she could hear was their footsteps. Now, jet engines raced by and she heard occasional explosions. She couldn't see anything through the tree tops other than a very brief glimpse of something. A loud explosion came from behind them. She turned and saw a large fireball rise up. Many people turned to look at it, a few screamed.

"Keep moving!" Sarah yelled from the front.

"Was that the school?" Byron asked in a hushed tone.

Calculating the distance they had gone and where the explosion was, Allison said, "It's possible. It is the right distance, though I'm not sure about the direction."

"Move!" Sarah commanded.

Coming to a dirt road up ahead, Sarah had everyone stop and get down as she went on to check for anything waiting for them. Allison listened closely. She picked up soft noises, like the sound of tracks, but no engine noise. She recognized it as the sound of the things that took her. They were coming from the direction Gramma had gone.

Heart in her throat, Allison dropped all her packs. "Everyone, lie down!" she barked, then grabbed a couple trees with her Hands and slung herself after her grandmother. Using the trees, she flew up to land in front of her Grandmother and said, "They are coming, Gramma! Get behind a tree and lay down. I'll stop them."

The sudden appearance of Allison, as well as her statement, made Sarah's jaw drop. "Allison! What's coming? How will... how did you do that?"

"Just get down, PLEASE!" Allison begged, then launched herself for the road. Coming toward her fast was a long line of those tracked vehicles, and every one had a gun. Heart pounding in fear for her Grandmother and all her friends, Allison charged, all her Hands out.

She hit the lead one, then one behind it, and the third one, splitting them in half. The next one she grabbed the barrel as it rolled under her, planted Hands on the road, and lifted it up to fling it over her head and bash it down into another one. Not wanting to get shot, she flew off to the side as an impressive train-wreck effect occurred. Behind her, pieces of machines, wheels, track sections and body parts flew as the ones behind rammed the destroyed ones in front. Others tried to stop just before impact. Once farther back did get stopped off turned off into the woods.

Allison flew through the trees and came back at the road. She passed over the road, splitting five more with her Hands, then slung herself over one trying to escape in the direction her friends were in. She split this one in half, then threw the halves back towards the road. One piece bounced between a few trees, loosing parts before it landed. Her aim was better with the other half, coming down on the road and wrecking another vehicle.

Multiple gunfire sounded in a deafening roar. Trees she passed exploded in splinters, throwing bark and wood everywhere. Ducking down on the ground, Allison shielded herself from the onslaught. A peek up showed more machines were coming through the woods.

Allison fought with everything she had, flying through tress, slashing out at machines and blocking the bullets they shot at her. She lost track of time as she destroyed machine after machine. Every time the ones around her were wrecked, she searched for more. She could not allow any of them to get to her friends!

An inspiration hit her. She ran through the woods, slicing down trees to form a barrier. Cut through the trunk, then knock it down on others so the vehicles could not get by. As she was doing this to prevent them from getting to her friends or Grandmother, bullets came at her from the sky. Looking up, she saw the triangular craft drop a bomb from only a hundred yards up. She shot out a Hand and caught the bomb, and flung it away. Grabbing a tree limb, she threw herself in the air and smacked the machine hard. The body folded and the air craft spun to the side, then exploded.

Returning to her task, Allison raced around the area, looking for any more machines that were still moving. Not finding any, she went back to where she'd left her Grandmother. Coming to the area, she grabbed for another tree trunk, but her invisible arms failed her. She tumbled to the ground, bouncing a few times before she landed on her back.

"Gramma! Gramma, where are you!" Alison called as she got to her feet. Tripping over a steel wheel from the wreckage, Allison fell face first on the ground. Getting up, she noted her strength was gone. Her head hurt and it was getting hard to see. She saw Gramma appear in front of her. Her mouth moved, but Allison couldn't hear anything other than the ringing in her ears.

"What?" she asked. She stumbled again.

Sarah hurried over and caught Allison. The child's face was blank and she was sweating profusely. "Come on, let's get back to the others," Sarah coaxed, guiding Allison along with an arm around her.

Allison turned her blank gaze to Sarah. Weakly, she said, "Gramma ... you look fuzzy."

Sarah knelt down and steered Allison behind her, tapping her back. "Come on hon, I'll carry you."

"Huh?"

Sarah took Allison's arms and put them around her neck. Allison got the idea and climbed on. By her movements, Sarah could tell she was getting weaker. Sarah got up with a strained grunt. "Holy GOD you're heavy," she complained as her face turned red.

"I'm tired, Gramma," Allison mumbled.

"Just hold on to me hon," Sarah coaxed as she trod along back to the group. She was amazed at the massive destruction Allison had caused. Much of Allison's fighting was beyond her sight range, but she did count thirty vehicles Allison had destroyed as well as chop down a portion of woods and downed an H/K. Not bad for a six year old.

Sarah grew a crooked grin as she walked along under Allison's weight. Sky Net was in for real trouble when Allison grew up.

.

In the skies over the Air Force base, Navy attack drones had arrived to join the fight. Between the remaining fighters and the drones, the rest of the H/K's were downed. A radar plane picked up another large flight of H/K's inbound. The drones shifted to face the threat head on as the fighters climbed high to come down from above. Also joining the fight, a squadron of high power lazer armed F22's came at the H/K's from behind. With no radar lock on them and the concentrated beams of high energy light they fired, the H/K's did not know where the attack was coming from as F-22's began dropping H/K's one after the other. With the drones attacking from in front, and fighters from above, the cloud of H/K's broke apart, shedding unit's that fell burning. Keeping up their high speed, the Navy fighters screamed into range, took a shot, then flew away. The drones got in closer. Many were downed, but took H/K's with them. From behind, the F'22's were taking out H/K's almost at their leisure.

With over half of it's aerial force gone, and only seven ground units left after the ambush in the woods long before either had even gotten close to the base, Sky Net knew the battle to destroy the AI's was lost. It sent out a new mission priority to it's forces. Find and destroy communications and all humans they encountered.

.

In the command center, Major Franklin watched intently as the airmen worked the limited video feed from the last operating camera they had. The ground outside looked tipped due to the tower being hit, but it hadn't fallen down. Yet. One underground emergency generator was still in operation. They had power for lights, the camera, and a circuit to the useless communication equipment they had. All the antennas were gone. From what he saw from the video feed, anything above ground level was wrecked. He did see a couple of the Sky Net mini-Stugs roll past.

"Generals, we've got nothing left," Major Franklin told them. "The only thing moving up there are Sky Net machines."

"What about our AI's?" General Abram asked.

"No word, no sight of them. For how strong they are and how intelligent, I am sure they are hiding in the rubble someplace," Major Franklin told him.

A banging knock sounded on the doors into the bunker. The guards turned to face the door. One guard keyed the speaker. "Identify yourself!" he commanded. The camera looking down on the outside showed one man standing at the entrance.

"Fire and rescue squad from Palmdale. We are looking for survivors," a reply came over the speakers.

A sign of relief passed through the room.

"No!" Major Franklin said quickly. "There is nothing but Sky Net over us. It's a trick!"

General Wakefield eyed Franklin with a grin. "Apparently you're wrong, Major." Going over to the speaker, he pushed the talk button and said, "This is General Wakefield. How many are with you?"

"Two rescue trucks and four groups of searchers," came the reply. "We're busy and would like some help, if you are able."

"Did you see any combat units?"

"We saw one leaving the base. It was a low, tracked vehicle."

General Wakefield cast a triumphant grin Franklin's' way. "See, Major, that mini-Stug you saw was leaving. They are headed someplace else."

"General, DO NOT open that door!" Major Franklin warned. "The one I saw wasn't leaving, it was coming this way. Sky Net has terminators that look and act human! That is what Mrs. Connor was before the programming was removed from her. I'm telling you, it's a trick."

General Wakefield motioned to the guards and said, "Cover this door. Then we'll see who's out there."

"Don't," General Abrams said. "The Major is right, if that is a terminator out there, it will kill us all."

The six guards made a semicircle around the door, pointing their M-16's at it.

"I am the commander of this base! Open it. It's only one man," General Wakefield said.

Major Franklin dove down and crawled behind the monitoring station. A guard hit the button to open the door, General Abrams ran over to shut it. He hit the button too late. The door was made to complete a cycle in one direction before working at the next command. The door opened.

.

John laid behind a pile of rubble with his machine gun aimed at the back of the mini-Stug across the street. To his left, Cameron held her RPG aimed and ready, John Henry was beyond her. To John's right was the man with the TOW launcher, three others with the rest of the RPG's beyond them. At each end were men with the M-14's they had salvaged. The guns were old, but shot .30 caliber rounds, and not the .22's the M-16's used. The heavier rounds would go through the Stug's hull.

"FIRE!" John barked loudly, then opened fire on the back of the Stug in front of him. Grenades, a missile and gun fire blasted into the backs of the machines. The one John faced tried to turn briefly before he put enough rounds into it to destroy the power plant. The one the TOW missile hit and exploded, sending shrapnel into the ones beside it.

Six Sky Net machines were destroyed immediately. One tried moving with a broken track, the other banged into it's smoking neighbor as it turned to return fire. John shot this one until it quit moving, then turned his gun to help finish off the last one.

"Let's Go, NOW!" John roared, and charged across the street. A quick glance at the sky showed nothing overhead. Thank god for small favors, John thought. From within the building he heard gunfire and screams.

"Let me!" Cameron called, and held out her hand. John gave her the machine gun. Cameron took the lead charging into the building.

"John Henry, go with her," John commanded. He then guiding the others into setting up guards to watch for approaching machines.

.

The fight at the open blast door was short. The T-800 strode in, killed a guard by snapping his neck and grabbed his gun. The other guards all opened up on him, ripping away flesh, but the bullets bounced off his endoskeleton. One by one, the T-800 downed each guard them shot the men trying to hide. General Wakefield raised his hands and announced his surrender just before bullets ripped through him.

The rifle empty, the T-800 picked up another from a dead guard and kept killing men who cried for mercy. Once there was no more movement, it stood, listening. Behind the bank of monitors, it heard ragged breathing. It moved toward the monitors and heard fast footsteps on the stairs. It turn to see Cameron They both shot at the same time.

Like the T-800, the M-16 bullets penetrated Cameron, but bounced off her endoskeleton, doing no real damage. The thirty cal machine gun Cameron had pounded the T-800 hard enough to knock it backwards. Aiming for the T-800's eyes wanting to punch through to the electronics beyond, Cameron kept up a solid stream of fire as she walked forward. She was successful, destroying the right eye, and driving bullets into the base of it's chip. The T-800 collapsed, deactivated.

"Do you need help?" John Henry asked from behind her.

Cameron turned and stated, "No, I got him."

John Henry tipped his head slightly and said, "Not you, Cameron. The man behind the monitors."

Cameron pulled the monitor bank out with one hand to reveal Major Franklin lying on the floor,gapping at her. Scanning him, she didn't see any apparent damage. "Come, we must leave." she said flatly.

Although they found plenty of M-16's beside soldier's bodies, John's 'scavangeing' group only found one more machine gun and a half a box of belt ammunition. Moving out to the south, they passed dead lying everywhere. Keeping to higher ground to avoid possible gas pockets, and moving from cover to cover, the band of survivors made the perimeter fence. Once outside the base, John had them struggle though high, dry brush to break up their outlines. It wasn't prime cover, but it was something.

Cameron suddenly looked off to the south the same time John Henry did.

"Trouble?" John asked. He looked too, but didn't see anything moving on the horizon.

"Help," Cameron told him.

Off in the distance, a line of their mini-Stugs appeared, rolling towards them. With the machines nearby, Cameron and John Henry were able to connect radio communications back to the Zeita factory, and in turn to other places to get the word out about what was happening. With something to fight with now, they made plans to remove the remains of Sky Net from the base.

.

Allison awoke with a splitting headache. She let out a whimpering moan and covered her face. The bed she was in was uncomfortable, and sagging badly down the middle.

"Ally, you OK?" Byron asked from right beside her head.

"I hurt," she whined and tried to hold her pounding head together.

"Hon, sit up and take these," Allison heard her Gramma say. She cracked her eyes open to see she was not in her room, but outside on a cot made from a blanket and a long pair of sticks that looked like someone had used tree branches. In front of her, Gramma was holding a paper cup of water and two pills.

Confused and hurting, Allison asked, "Where are we?" She did take the pills, and downed all the water.

"Safe as we can be, Hon." Sarah said soothingly. "Lie back down and get some rest."

Allison gazed out her painful eyes at the scenery around them. They were in the woods on a hill, it looked like a town in the distance. She also puzzled over Gramma's remark about being safe. "Did something happen?" she asked. Byron, Gramma and Becky stared at her. Dan, barked out a laugh.

"Happen?" Dan asked, gapping at her. "Did you ask if something happened? Come on Ally, you don't remember?" he asked.

Irritated at him, Allison asked, "Remember WHAT? We were having lunch ... and now we're out here in the woods."

"It doesn't matter right now," Sarah told her. "Lie back and get some rest."

Allison nodded and laid back down and closed her eyes. She swore someone had beaten her all over, and her head was pounding.

Dan said in a laugh, "She wipes out a whole column of panzers by herself, and she doesn't remember?"

"Dan, stop it," Gloria said firmly.

"Yeah, leave her alone!" Byron added.

"Shut up and let her sleep!" Becky snapped.

"Sleep, Ally, I'm right here," Byron said as he held her hand. She squeezed his hand gently in gratitude.

"Everyone, over there. Give Allison some peace," Gloria told them.

Sarah left Allison with Byron kneeling beside her, and returned to watching the outskirts of Palmdale.

So far, she did not see the signs of the devastation she had been expecting. There were attacks, an H/K in the distance was shooting down on something until a missile streaked in and destroyed it. Police, ambulances and fire crews were out in force. Fighter planes would cruise by overhear, but there were no massive explosions or gas attacks. It was quite possible that Allison had single handedly destroyed the force sent to do those things.

Sarah had trouble believing Allison could move that fast, and those invisible Hands she had were that powerful. Mr. Ellison had said that the woman who made it possible for Cameron to be able to bear Allison, held the nickname of 'wind of death'. She could easily see Allison deserving that same name. All Allison did was jump over the road in incredible leaps, and all the machines below her broke apart and flew around like the wind alone was destroying them. Sarah was sure not even the most advanced terminator ever made would stand a hope in hell against Allison.

Using all that immense power had drained her granddaughter. Once she was done, Allison was in sad shape. She'd passed out for five hours and even when she woke up, Allison had amnesia and was obviously hurting from the effort she had expended. If at all possible, Sarah was going to do her best to make sure that Allison would never have to suffer like this again.

"What do you think?" Miss Jacobs asked as she came up beside Sarah.

"Not what I expected. The town is still there, and it seems like Sky Net is beat, at least for the moment," Sarah told her. Pointing up, she said, "The H/K's must have gotten beaten by our planes. Overall, I think we did pretty good. We survived."

"About Allison," Miss Jacobs said hesitantly. "What she did back there was ... beyond incredible. We heard guns firing, but she came back without a scratch. Her mind powers are that strong?"

"I was shocked too. Pleasantly," Sarah admitted. "If it wasn't for her, we could all be dead right now. I am hoping that Cameron did as well against the forces that attacked the base. She's pretty tough also."

"You have an amazing family, that's for certain," Miss Jacobs said with a grin. "So, when do you think it will be safe to go back to the school?"

"In the morning, I'll go back and recon the school. If I don't find anything, I'll drive back down that road down there," Sarah said, pointing at the dirt road below them. "If you don't see me by noon, assume the worst and stay here. Unless you recognize someone, don't trust them. No matter what military vehicles you see, stay away from them. Cops too. Triple eights can look like anyone."

"You sound paranoid," Miss Jacobs noted.

Sarah eyed her and said, "I've been fighting Sky Net's machines for the past twenty four years. I've got good reason to be paranoid."

.

The remaining Sky Net mini-Stugs got a rude surprise when they met the camo-painted, turtle backed mini-Stugs. The first was being shot at and destroyed from ambush points after human resistance had been eliminated. The second was their machine gun bullets deflected harmlessly off the heavier armored hulls. The third was tactics. If a turtle back Stug missed or didn't destroy it's target, it backed up into cover. The Sky Net Stugs would go after it to kill it, and get destroyed by another Stug hiding nearby, waiting for them. In a couple hours, the Sky Net Stugs were gone. Cameron also found another triple eight on the base. It was no match for a shot from a rail gun. The high speed, armor piercing rounds blew the terminator apart.

Sitting up against the badly painted mini-Stug, Cameron controlled the units as John did his best to pick out the bullets and bandage the holes in his wife and cover up all her bare-metal areas. Leaning against the front of the Stug, John Henry took the duty of being the radio as Major Franklin talked to his next highest superior. Around them, the rest of the group sat looking for threats and trying to absorb the day's events. This morning, they were techs in a nice workplace concerned mostly about their projects and how they were going to spend their paychecks and planning their weekends. As the sun set this afternoon, they were battle-shocked survivors of a brutal fight they never imagined would happen here.

John had worked his way down, and finished wrapping Cameron's ripped up leg. She looked like she should be in intensive care with all the blood on her and covered in bandages of whatever John could find, including his T-shirt he'd riped up.

"I can find no other Sky Net forces, of survivors," Cameron said blankly. "All units returning to this location."

Louder, John said, "Did you hear that, Major? The base is clear. Mini-Stugs returning."

Major Franklin came around from the front. "Good news," he said. Seeing Cameron, he added, "Will she be OK?"

"Everything still works, right Cam?" John asked.

Cameron took on a brief look of surprise. She looked down art herself, then cast a blank look at John. Her lips trembled and her voice quavered as she said, "No. My normal function are operating one hundred percent, but the bullet that hit my womb destroyed the flesh holding our babies."

"Babies?" John asked. "You're pregnant?"

"Not any more. Both were killed." As Cameron spoke, a tear welled in her one good eye.

John's face fell. "OH... god, Cam," he said and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm really sorry," Major Franklin offered.

Cameron held onto him, staying quiet until the mini-stugs all returned and ringed their position. She then burst out crying.

It was the most mournful sound John ever heard.

.

John found out the top speed of the new mini-Stugs was 52 miles per hour as he followed the one ahead of him to the school in the pre-dawn before the sun came up. Cell phone service was down, so he and Cameron went to check on Allison and Sarah. In the passenger seat beside him, Cameron was blank faced as she controlled the mini-Stug in front of them. At least she had stopped her crying fits.

Four times last night, John had woke up to Cameron's grief. She offered to go and let him sleep, but he wouldn't have it. His wife was having a very hard time with loosing her babies, and he wasn't about to let her face her grief alone. John felt terrible also, but he held himself together for her. The possibility of having any more children was gone, and he knew that devastated her.

Pulling up to the school building, John grabbed the M-14 he brought and Cameron grabbed the .30 cal machine gun. Cameron parked the mini-Stug pointing out at the road away from the building far enough that John could pull up to the steps behind Sarah's jeep.

Wearing sunglasses and bandages across her forehead and left side of her face, Cameron was not dressed in the required formal wear. Carrying the .30 cal, she had on a long sleeved black shirt, her purple leather jacket, jeans and boots, all her clothes showing holes and blood splotches. John, in his brown leather jacket, was also dressed for combat instead of visiting. The first think they noticed was the place looked empty.

The noise of a door being slammed open got their attention.

"Upstairs," Cameron noted. They went up, guns trained.

John brought his rifle up to his shoulder, watching ahead of them as they slowly climbed the stairs, being as quiet as possible. From the hallway ahead came the sound of heavy footfalls, punctuated by another door slamming open.

Getting to the top, John laid on the stairs and peeked around one corner over the sights of his rifle. Cameron looked the other way. Seeing open doors, John whispered, "Down here."

A large, solidly build man stepped out of the last open doorway. He held a machine pistol in his hand. He raised his gun to fire, John took aim and his right eye and shot. Right after his shot, Cameron opened up on him.

The man jerked and fell back in the room from the pounding. Cameron raced to the doorway. John had time to get up when the man, now showing metal endoskeleton, appeared to knock Cameron's gun aside, grab her by the throat and slam her hard into the opposite wall. John aimed at his chip port and shot again. The bullet skipped off his skull, but it did allow Cameron to knock his hand away and kick him back into the room. Cameron took aim fired. A crash of breaking glass was heard. She ran in, John followed.

.

Sarah peeked up from behind a low wall. Seeing the rounded hulled, tracked vehicle in front of the school, she assumed Sky Net was here. Shifting to get a better look at the driveway, she saw John's car.

"Shit," she hissed. John was here, and Sky Net had followed him.

A crash, and a man tumbled from the second story, landing in the drive with the broken glass and window frame.

Another figure jumped from the window. Sarah watched Cameron land on her feet in a crouch, then knelt over to the downed terminator.

Sarah broke cover and ran over to her. "Where's John?" she asked.

"Inside, he's coming. Where's Allison?" Cameron replied.

"Up the road, hiding in the woods."

"I need to destroy this chip. Then we'll go get Allison."

"What is that thing?" Sarah asked, indicating the vehicle.

"Mini-Stug, it's one of mine."

.

It was Gloria's turn to watch the road below. Sarah wasn't around when they woke up. Miss Jacobs told all the staff Sarah had gone back to the school to see it it was safe to return. Although Gloria hadn't seen much yesterday with her head on the ground and praying none of them were going to die, she'd head about what Allison had done. She really hoped that Allison would wake up this morning feeling somewhat normal. If more of those thing came back, Allison was the only defense they had.

Seeing a vehicle on the road, Gloria at first felt relief, knowing it had to be Sarah. They she noted the barrel sticking over the front and saw it was tracked. Her heart went in her throat. She fled back to their camp site. Running up, she yelled, "They're here! More of those things came back!"

Blankets erupted and people scrambled to gather their things. Allison was dead asleep, Byron lying on the ground with his own blanket beside her. Byron raised his head.

"Everyone calm down and keep quiet," Miss Jacobs said. "Gloria, How many and where?"

"On the road, right where you told me to watch. I only saw one," Gloria said as she pointed behind her.

"All right, listen up," Miss Jacobs said sternly. "Gather your things and sit tight. We'll go watch where that thing is heading. It may pass us on by. Gloria, show me where you found it."

"It might see us!" Gloria complained.

"Quiet!" Miss Jacobs said firmly. She looked over to see Byron was up, watching them. Allison was sound asleep.

The sound of snapping sticks and crunching undergrowth came to them. Everyone got up and looked around.

"They're coming!"

"HIDE!"

Gloria turned and fled back the way she came, she'd past a thicket of laurel, she'd hide there. A form rushed up in front of her. The tracked vehicle was moving fast for coming uphill through the woods, the cannon was pointed down hill. A person carrying a big machine gun was riding on it. Frozen in fear, Gloria watched the machine stop, the figure atop it slid off and walked up to her. It was a woman with sunglasses, bloody purple leather jacket and jeans and a bandaged head. She looked like she'd been through a meat grinder. This was one battle hardened soldier.

"I've come for my daughter. Where is Allison?" Cameron asked.

Gloria gapped at her. "Mrs. Connor?" she asked in a squeak.

"Yes. Take me to Allison."

"Follow me," Gloria said weakly. When she usually saw Mrs. Connor, she was in a nice dress, bore a pleasant demeanor, and was very pretty. The Mrs. Connor in front of her was none of those. In fact with her blank face, bloody clothes, bandages, and toting that big gun, she looked scary.

Cameron marched into the empty the camp. People's heads appeared from their various hiding spots.

"The Army's here!" Dan yelled as he stood up.

Cameron stopped and eyed him. "I'm not in the army, Dan. Where's Allison?"

"Mrs. Connor?" he asked as his jaw dropped.

"She's here," Byron said, crawling out of a tent. He pulled the tent back to reveal Allison asleep on her make-shift stretcher.

Cameron went over and squatted down by Allison, not taking her hand off the machine gun or the trigger guard as she held it to the side. She petted Allison's hair and said, "Sweetie, Mommy's here. Come on, you have to wake up."

Allison moaned and dug her head around, then turned and opened her eyes. "Mommy, what happened to you?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"We had a fight with Sky Net, sweetie. Can you walk?"

"It hurts to do anything," Allison complained weakly.

"I'll carry you. Daddy and Gramma are waiting for us," Cameron told her.

Allison sat up and put her arms around Cameron's neck. Cameron scoped her up with one arm supporting her butt and stood. Looking over the people staring at her, Cameron said, "I'm sorry, I do not have transportation for all of you. If you come down to the road, we will ferry you back to the school a few at a time."

"Mrs. Connor, what is that thing?" Miss Jacobs asked as she pointed to the mini-Stug.

"A way to fight back against Sky Net. Mine are better. I cleared a path for you to follow," Cameron stated, then walked back toward the machine. The machine started going down hill ahead of her.

Dan, bearing a goofy grin, said, "Wow, Allison's mother is a real bad-ass too."

"Dan!" Gloria barked, eyeing him.

"Well, she is!"

.

Miss Jacobs was not happy the Connor's had a firefight inside the school, but was pleased that they had gotten rid of the Sky Net machines and protected the students. Cameron took the 'dead body' with them and of course took Allison home to recover, which now was a motel room until the base was rebuilt. Cameron made sure Miss Jacobs had their new address and phone number before they left.

The damage from the firefight had taken place in and around Becky's room. The door and window were destroyed, the wall across the hall was cracked and pushed in, and bullet holes and shell casings were scattered around. Mrs. Jacobs put Becky in an empty room that was only missing the latch from being kicked in, as many other rooms were.

Thinking the excitement was done, Mrs. Jacobs tried to call parents to let them know their children had survived unscathed. That was when she discovered all the phone lines were down, and cell phone service didn't work. It was irritating, but she'd have to wait and try again tomorrow.

With the recent turmoil, she decided to stay the night with the duty teacher. In the staff lounge they turned the radio on, and learned the horrors of what had happened yesterday. Thousands dead in LA, and the Air Force base nearby had been destroyed. That was just local news. Other cities had been attacked, and there was an outbreak of war between the two Korea's, China and Japan, and in the middle East. Tensions were high between the US, England and Russia for the Russian gas attacks from their submarines, which the Russians flatly denied. Both the US and Russian presidents were trying to call a halt to the fighting, but their pleas were falling on deaf ears.

What was the world coming to?


	13. Chapter 13

CH 13 Calm before the storm

A week after the attack, Allison was recovered and back in school. A mass of workers helped clear the base of wreckage and debris. Buildings that could be repaired were, buildings what weren't were torn down. All the Stug wrecks from the battle were trucked off to Zeita Corp for study and rebuilding.

The new base commander, a middle aged man dark haired stern looking man named General Stockwell, called for a staff meeting the day after his arrival. Arrivals to the conference room that now bore a large plywood patch where the outside wall used to be, was Major Franklin, John and Cameron Connor, John Henry and Mrs. Weaver. John Henry and Cameron were bandaged to cover their bare metal that had yet to grow skin back.

General Stockwell and his aide, Major Burns, eyed the arrivals. "This is rather odd, four civilians, two of which looks like they belong in the hospital, and an Army Major is the entire base staff?" he asked.

"The rest didn't make it," Major Franklin stated. "Let me do the introductions. This woman is Mrs. Catherine Weaver, an AI in a machine body. Beside her is John Henry, who is also a machine AI, Mr. John Connor, our top tech, and his wife, Mrs. Cameron Connor, who is also a cyborg AI. I take it you have read the battle debriefings?"

General Stockwell eyed him. "Yes Major, I've read the reports. From what I read, these AI's of yours seemed to have tipped the scale. They are very efficient in battle, but why are they here now?"

"Excuse me, General, we belong to no one." Mrs. Weaver said sternly. "It is the Army that was assisting us. My associates, The Connors and John Henry, defended this base as part of our goal at defeating Sky Net that still remains lurking about."

"Major," General Stockwell said firmly, "I don't know what you're pulling, but you will either shut your machines up, or turn them off."

"Cam, don't!" John barked as Cameron shot to her feet.

Mrs. Weaver also stood up, glaring at General Stockwell.

"Wait, please!" Major Franklin begged. "General! Mrs. Connor, Mrs. Weaver and John Henry are not 'my' AI's. They are fully independent and sentient. We are helping them fight Sky Net. THAT was why the base was attacked, Sky Net tried to destroy them. They are the only thing keeping Sky Net down."

"You have no control over your creations?" General Stockwell asked.

"WE did not create them," Major Franklin stated. "Mrs. Connor and Mrs. Weaver came from the future, Mrs. Weaver built John Henry specifically to fight Sky Net. He and Cameron are the ONLY reason we are not all dead, Sir!"

"Sky Net was the creation of the Air Force. Look at how well you did at controlling it," Mrs. Weaver said dryly.

General Stockwell looked at Major Franklin and asked, "Those automated mini-Stugs, as you call them. Can you use those to keep these AI's in line if the need rose?"

"Those Mini-Stugs are mine. I control them," Cameron stated flatly.

"Mrs. Connor bought them from my factory, the military does not own those vehicles." Mrs. Weaver added.

Seeing the General gape at them, Major Franklin nodded. "That is correct, Sir. Those machines belong to the Connors. They are using them to defend our base. If it wasn't for them, we would have been

completely wiped out, as well as thousands more people dead. After Sky Net was done killing everyone on base, they would have continued on to the towns and cities. We believe the gas attacks were designed to cause confusion so Sky Net's ground machines could destroy the bases, then the cities."

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, General Stockwell asked, "What military defenses does this base have?"

"The company of Army reservists that arrived with four humvees and two Bradly fighting vehicles. That's it. Our forces are spread rather thin at the moment due to world criss , General." Major Franklin stated.

"You are telling me these cyborgs actually run this base," General Stockwell said, sounding irritated.

"Mrs. Weaver," John Henry said, shifting his gaze to look at her. "All internet connections are back on line. No trace of Sky Net present.

"Thank you, John Henry." Mrs. Weaver replied.

"He has restored the internet after that massive attack we suffered?" Stockwell asked.

"We took it down to keep it from being taken over by Sky Net," Cameron told him. "One of Sky Net's objectives was to take us off line so it could hack into military computers. Before it took us off line, we took down the web to deny Sky Net use of it until we were able to reconnect and restore the servers."

Major Franklin said, "General, these AI's are being helped by the Army. Their presence here, and even the fact they exist is highly classified, Top Secret eyes and ears only. I have been ordered to proceed with our mission as well as I can, with whatever personnel I need to commandeer. At the moment, we need Mrs. Connor's vehicles to maintain security. They are currently deployed to assist our human guards."

"Excuse me," Cameron said. Taking out her cell phone, she told Major Franklin, "It's time to call my daughter," and left the room.

"This is too much," General Stockwell said with a snort. "An AI has a child?"

"We do," John said as he eyed Stockwell. "And yes, Cameron gave birth to her. Before you ask, you do not need to know the details."

"General," Mrs. Weaver said firmly. "All you need to know is that we are here. We will continue to defend the base until you receive enough forces to do so yourself, then we will return to our corner of the base."

"Major Franklin," John Henry said, turning to him. "Monitoring the hospital I discovered Mrs. Franklin is out of surgery, and is expected to fully recover."

"Thank you, John Henry," Franklin said with a smile. "Do you know what room she will be in?"

John Henry was silent for a moment, then said, "After recovery, she will be moved to room three two five. Her expected time of arrival there is between three and three thirty pm."

Major Franklin looked at his watch and said, "Thank you, John Henry. General, I cannot stress enough the need to keep these cyborgs functioning and doing what they do best. Protecting us as well as their own families. As for the Air Force element on base, at the moment you and a few techs are it. The hangars and command buildings got hit hard. I am certain you will receive reinforcement as soon as possible."

General Stockwell nodded slowly, still absorbing what he'd learned. "This is all highly unusual, but apparently these AI's very effective. Thank you for the briefing, Major. We will support you however we can."

.

After going through the battle against those Sky Net machines in the woods, Allison focused her elective study time on battles. The textbooks only told what battles were fought and the outcome. She did find a good reference on the Internet about details of what happened during battles through the ages. One curious thing she found was that despite the weapons used, all battles seemed to rely on a few basic factors. Strength was a large factor, but not always the most important. She found many cases where the smaller, weak force overcame their larger enemy through surprise and tactics.

General Andrew Jackson during the war of 1812, defeated a British force five times the size of his own through superior defensive tactics at the battle of New Orleans. General Lee and Stonewall Jackson never had a numerical superiority over the various Union generals that had gotten replaced one after another due to the fact they could not defeat Lee, even with more and better equipped troops. A couple of the Union defeats were very lopsided. It wasn't until Gettysburg that Lee began to loose battles. Even then, he kept fighting as his supplies and manpower diminished and was not truly beaten until he had pretty much nothing left to fight with. In World War 2, the Nazis rarely had a numerical advantage in manpower, but they swept through France, then drove deep into Russia using better tactics and more advanced communications. It wasn't until their enemies had overwhelming forces and the Germans were sorely lacking in forces, that they were pushed back and defeated.

Studying warfare, Allison came across a book, 'The Art of War', by a Chinese man named Sun Tzu. It was rated as the best book on warfare ever written. Allison studied it. Although Sun Tzu talked about marching men, chariots and bows, she could see direct parallels in modern warfare on how his words still rang true. She decided to study this book in depth.

For one of their gaming sessions, Dan invited Allison to play another battle game, this one was the Battle of El-Alamein. As always, Byron teamed up with Allison, and Becky teamed up with Dan. Of course, Dan took the British side that had more men, equipment and supplies.

During the last hour of class, Allison studied the battle, which was actually two battles. The first was an attack by Rommel, which was stopped. And the second was Montgomery attacking and driving a hole in the German lines to drive them back. Using the teachings of Sun Tzu, Allison knew this was going to be a tough game. The Germans were at a disadvantage, not getting supplies, and the British forces were quick to gain in men and materials.

During dinner, Allison sat with Byron, conspiring about the upcoming game.

"We're going to loose, you know that, right?" Byron said with a snort.

"Maybe, if we follow history," Allison agreed. "But, what if we don't?"

Byron shrugged and stirred his rice pilaf with his fork. "Look, they got a lot more forces, especially aircraft. They hold the high ground, right? Not to mention Rommel was a very good general, and he couldn't break through the British lines. He couldn't go around them because of the Qattara Depression."

"Tanks could not go through the Qattara Depression," Allison said, correcting him. "Men can still walk it. I also noticed there was no attempt by Rommel for a beach invasion from the coast either."

"He didn't have any boats," Byron replied.

Allison grinned and said, "And that means Dan and Becky will never expect an attack from either of those directions, will they? They are going to be focused on our front lines."

Byron looked over at Dan and Becky, sitting a couple tables away. "OK, we plan out strategy up in my room."

Allison gave Byron a sly grin. Quietly, she said, "I looked at the recommended strategy. The Germans are suppose to attack and get into the best defensive positions they can and fake attacks, conserving their forces until the British attack. The British are suppose to hold the Germans back and try to reduce the German forces until they have a sizable advantage. Dan usually plays by the recommended course of action. Becky follows Dan's lead. We're not going to do that. Eat up, I've got a plan."

.

As usual, Byron thought Allison was nuts at first as she laid her plans out. Allison took all the historical weather data into consideration, including the phases of the moon. She wasn't going to play by what really happened, she was going to play with Sun Tzu in mind. This game allowed for controlling troops down to the squad level. Anything available at the time, could be commandeered and used.

Since the game required them to sit at separate computers and communicate through a typed chat program (British knew the German codes) Allison and Byron got their plans together ahead of time, and made a code words to indicate their real plans were being implemented.

The start of the game was British retreating to El-Alamein, and the Germans attacking. Officially game wise, Allison had the German command, and Byron had the Italian command. They split it differently. Byron had the 'main attack force', and Allison was controlling the secondary offensives. At the outset, Allison commandeered fishing boats as they gained territory and sent a message to Byron : 'British troops fleeing in civilian craft at sea, can you send aircraft to stop them?'

Byron replied, 'No aircraft available. Do what you can. Don't loose focus on the main battle!'

'I'll send what I can afford to send.'

As Allison hoped, British aircraft came out in force to protect the fishing boats. That must be Becky, she thought. Pleased with this, she sent enough fighters to duel with the enemy aircraft to make it look real as she launched all other available planes at the British ground troops and air bases. At the same time, far from what was going to be the main battle, she send thirty thousand troops south, deep into the Qattara Depression with floats and lumber to get their light trucks packed with supplies and ammo through the giant bog. These troops only moved at night, and covered up with camo during the day.

While the main battle progressed as expected, the Germans pushing the British back, more fishing boats 'fled' the German advance, their holds filled with German troops that Becky was protecting. Allison kept sending fighters out and Becky kept up a solid defense of the helpless fishing boats, even though her air bases were under attack. Strung out, the fishing boats got far behind the British lines and put ashore all on one night.

Allison's plan went almost like she wanted it to. Once the fishing boats landed, they came in contact with enemy guard forces along a wide front. Her troops got rid of the guards and moved inland towards the airfields. At the same time, another German air attack hit the British air fields.

'Invasion force landed,' Allison sent to Byron. As expected, Dan reacted strongly to this new threat, sending a substantial amount of his forces to deal with this phantom threat. Byron kept after the British, and managed to capture the El-Alamein railway station. By now, Dan and Becky's forces were concentrating on the obvious attacks, putting everything they had into the fight along the sea shore.

In four days game time, Allison's landed troops were all but wiped out, and had drawn off half the British forces to stop this invasion. Byron had gotten past El-Alamein by ten miles before the British were able to re group and stop him, and Allison's southern troops were half way across the Qattara Depression, into the marshes. Allison also noted her air attacks had done well, they had gotten most of the British bombers.

In the stalemate that followed, Byron kept exchanging small attacks with the British. He managed to get three more miles farther in the next two days, then messaged, Allison : 'Have to stop and wait for more supplies. When are the reinforcements due?'

'Yes, we stop for now, we are getting low. Reinforcements due in six days, plan attack for then.' Allison replied, meaning that was when she expected her southern troops to be in position. Her troops were getting low, as far south as they had to go to get around the worst of the wetlands to the south. Soon, they would be back up on dry land and able to move much more rapidly.

Aerial recon showed Dan and Becky were digging in for a three layered defense while Byron (in better shape than Rommel had been). Was waiting on supplies to get to him. In the skies, they didn't have superiority, but had done enough damage that the British didn't either. Traveling at night, more supplies got through.

Allison's troops finally got around the Qattara depression, and plugged the road to the British troops, destroying and capturing supplies and equipment on it's way to the front lines. This time, Dan and Becky only sent a small force to deal with the infiltrators. Their force lost badly. Allison went on the attack, leaving enough troops to guard the road, now with British artillery, tanks and ammo to assist them.

'Army is in position, don't let them get away', Allison sent to Byron.

'Attacking' Byron sent back, and began his artillery attack.

Allison captured an air field as Dan and Becky shifted their troops to attack Allison's, while bracing themselves for Byron's attack. Having an air field, Allison flew raids on the British troops as they moved, then landed at the captured air base to attack the reinforcements send from Alexandria. Byron attacked, and made a hole in the British front lines, sweeping north and east to decimate the defenders.

The British were in disarray. Allison only expected to hold the airfield for two days, maximum. She held it for three before the British broke through in their retreat. At that point, Allison pulled her troops south and let them pass and extended her line to the south. The Germans had made it past the Qtattara Depression, and Byron was making full use of the German blitzkrieg tactics, fueled by captured British supplies. The air field Allison had initially captured was re-captured, then they captured another. Their attacks were stopped 20 miles outside Alexandria.

The game ended when Allison made her first air strike on Alexandria's ports.

German victory : Alexandria has fallen.

"YES!" Allison and Byron roared in glee.

Dan looked at Becky. "I want Allison as my partner," he grumbled.

Becky shook her head. "Next game, girls versus boys," she stated.

.

Allison's life returned to normal, and she was loving it. Weekdays at school she did her studies and played with her friends, and weekends at home she got to spend time fun with her parents, Gramma, Savannah and John Henry. She didn't think it was quite fair what John Henry could not go out places with them. He was stuck in his lab, monitoring to make sure that the 'Sky Net' did not attack them again. Her mother seemed very pleased that she was practicing realistic war gaming and taking the underdog side whenever possible.

Byron's birthday came up on a Wednesday. Although it was during the week, her parents came to the school and joined in the celebration. They even brought a new war game for Byron and her to play.

This game was not a historical game, it was a tactical simulation game. The game was still complex and every factor was considered, even the status of each sides' civilian population and production capabilities. It started as two cities spread apart by two hundred miles distance. Each city had equal amounts of infantry, artillery, H/K flying units, and mini-stugs, as well as the same factories, army bases, airfields, training centers, and population. The goal was to take the other city.

Allison and Byron both studied the game's maps. The lay of the land was evenly balanced. The island the map represented held equal amounts of beaches that could be landed on, mountains, forests, rivers and flatlands. They had a great time trying to outwit each other. Byron made the first attack, basically a land grab to take a section of Allison's coastline that had a landing beach with a ridge beyond the beaches. Allison re-took it using half her air power. Byron used all his air power to attack her factories, while he hastily made more units himself. Allison's counter was to destroy his forces, then drive deep into his territory to get her artillery set up, with plenty of reinforcement to destroy two of his airfields, then capture an isolated piece of coastline on his side.

Back and forth they went, gaining and loosing ground. The game lasted until the next Tuesday when Allison feigned with a frontal attack in her own territory that Byron had been making steady progress on advancing into, then when Byron's forces were committed, she surged out directly at his city with a force she had been building up in the forest near the coastline she had captured early in the game.

.

While Allison was moving well into fourth grade, the world situation caused by the Sky Net attacks was still dim. Wars peppered the globe. North Korea and China allied against South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, who were getting assistance from their allies. Israel was on it's knees. First it had taken a severe internal beating from the Sky Net machines, and now Iran was leading a united Arab attack against it in reprisal from the Israeli attacks against them since the machines that attacked them bore Iranian markings. So far, the US, Russia, and European powers were not joining directly in the fighting, but the situation between them was very tense.

John Henry had sent out messages telling the waring countries that all the attacks had come from the same place, and even proved every type of vehicle in each initial attack was the same. No one wanted to listen to him. A few weak hack attempts were even tried against him.

Allison stayed in school as the wars slowly got worse. Recovering from the initial Sky Net attacks, China made a major offensive against Taiwan, the closest island nation to them and one against South Korea. While the South Koreans held out, and with the help of the US and other countries, they struck back with a major counter offensive, Taiwan was loosing badly. China got a beachhead, and drove halfway across their island before the Chinese were stopped. Japan did not attack China directly, but sunk hundreds of their ships and downed a thousand planes to control much of the south China sea as they prepared their own offensive. What was left of Israel fought furiously in the small corner of their country they still controlled. The European countries got together and sent troops to Israel to help, which prompted Russia to aid the Arabs directly with troops and equipment. When Russia attacked south into Europe, the US got into the war with troops also.

.

The air base the Connors were at became thick with activity. Cameron now had fifty of her mini-stugs, Catherine Weaver kept another thirty around her plant to protect it. Drones marked with only 'Connor' on their fuselages roamed the skies, searching for enemy aircraft as all the Air force combat drones left and returned on missions. Instead of controlling the drones individually, Cameron used John's 'semi-sentient' AI program to run them.

While Cameron was busy with base defense, John Henry stayed on his hunt for Sky Net, monitoring communications and the web. Satellites were coming down, others got put back up into orbit. He shifted from one to another, noting the reception was getting worse as more satellites were destroyed.

Allison came home on a weekend to find only Gramma Sarah, who had retrieved her from school, was the only other one in the house.

Frowning at not being able to see her parents, Allison asked, "Gramma, why can't Daddy and Mommy come home?"

Sarah offered her a sad smile and hugged her. "They are busy with the war, hon. It seems like everyone is fighting, except for Sky Net."

Allison carefully returned her hug. Thinking about all that was happening, Allison let out a gasp and pulled back. "Gramma! Can you show me who's fighting where?"

Sarah eyed her. "Why do you want to know?"

"Please?" Allison asked.

Sarah took Allison into the living room and sat her on the couch and got out a map. Patiently, she showed Allison which countries were at war, and with who. Allison studied the map closely.

"Sky Net used submarines, right?" Allison asked.

"We think so, yes," Sarah agreed.

Speaking as she thought, Allison said, "Sky Net tried to attack us, and used attacks in other places to distract us. That's what mommy said." She tipped her head slightly, then added, "So if all these countries are fighting each other and it's getting worse, then Sky Net won't need such a big distraction."

"Allison, every country is now expecting an attack," Sarah pointed out. "Sky Net can't attack anywhere and have it be a surprise."

"Yeah, they can!" Allison insisted. "Gramma, usually the web is open to everyone, everywhere, right? Is that still the case?"

Sarah shrugged. She then got it. "Sky Net is no longer in the US. It moved to a country that we can't see their Internet," she said thoughtfully.

"And since Mommy or John Henry can't see it, it can take over someone elses' web," Allison reasoned.

Sarah eyed Allison for a moment, then ran to the phone and called John.


	14. Chapter 14

CH 14. Second battle of Palmdale

Judgment day

Sky Net got itself installed on a Chinese computer and was tapped into the national defense network and the Russian defense network. It knew movements and the status of weapons. The Chinese were Russian allies, and had many nuclear weapons. It picked it's targets carefully. It targeted not only Russian and Chinese and it's enemies, but also Russia with the Chinese nukes, and China with the Russian nukes. It's first priority was to wipe out life in Asia. Finding a clear path, it send orders to the strategic bombers of Russia to carpet bomb Taiwan, and Chinese bombers to India. Once those 'secret missions' were under way, it would launch all the nukes.

The first signs of something wrong were communications reporting enemy breakthroughs where none occurred. Artillery opened up on their own troops. At sea, false reports of enemy ships 'disguised' as friendly caused ships to battle their own side. Rendezvous with other ships ended up to be enemy encounters. Once this confusion was underway, the bombs began to drop.

.

News of the nuclear attacks prompted swift response. Russia and China were stunned that not only they were releasing nuclear weapons, but also releasing them at each other. Due to the increase in modern missile defense, the US and British anti-missile defenses at sea and on land managed to down many missiles and warheads in flight aimed their way. Sea, air and land born lazers laced the skies, destroying incoming targets. A few missile got through in Europe and the US East coast. Norad was on peak alert. The President and Joint Chiefs were ready to launch a retaliatory strike. John Henry supplied additional satellite information, showing Russia and China launching against each other. Again, he sent information showing every vehicle that originally attacked in these wars, were the same type, only different markings had been put on them. Puzzled by events, the President held off on the retaliatory strikes and made it a top priority to contact the Russians and Chinese as soon as possible. It was obvious now something was very wrong.

.

Cameron acted quickly as well. Not knowing if they would be hit, she got all her mini-stugs away from the base and on low ground, and ordered all her drones in the air, and far away from the base. John Henry did his best to track incoming. In his lab, John Connor had finished telling the General what his mother had said about expecting a surprise Sky Net attack when the air raid siren went off.

At the Connor house, Sarah hustled Allison down into the bunker she'd made and packed with food, supplies and guns. Allison noted the four anti-radiation suits.

"What about Mommy and Daddy?" Allison cried.

"They will be inside bunkers at the airfield. Don't worry about them," Sarah said firmly.

.

Cameron knew the lab in the Weaver house was not a safe place. Only partially underground, even with reinforcement, she knew it was vulnerable to even a near-hit. She tried to call John. His phone was out of service. She then heard a loud squeak on the line and her phone went dead, as did all their monitoring equipment. There had been a high air burst, the EMP had wiped out their communications.

"Sky Net has started it's attack," John Henry said in a monotone voice.

.

Sky Net quickly took advantage of the carnage and chaos. While humans scurried for safety, it activated the hundreds of thousands of H/K's that it had been building and storing. No more had the mushroom clouds begun to rise over cities, when H/K's swarmed in to complete the destruction of the human infrastructure. Power plants, shipyards and military installations became undefended targets from the EMP waves caused by the nuclear blasts. For a full day, the H/K's met no resistance from humans as they destroyed everything they came across. Mini-stugs raced straight for oil fields in the mid east and Russia. Terminators build underground came out to slaughter any humans they came across in the wake of the mini-stug invasions. In Asia, Sky Net had complete control of land and air.

In Europe and North America where the nuclear attacks had been minimized,mini-Stugs and H/K's swept out from isolated underground bases to wreak havoc across the country, and found defenses still in place. Sky Net's machines did major damage, but they had to fight every inch of the way.

.

Cameron received reports of H/K's dropping gas bombs in the direction of LA and San Diego. Luckily, none were critically close to the base. All electronics had gone dark, victims of EMP from a high air burst.

Thankfully, Cameron had grounded her drones. Now, she ordered them airborne again to return to their patrol routes. Upon ordering each one, she received replies, telling her none were lost. Leaving them to their tasks, she brought the mini-Stugs back to base as she went out to see how the base fared.

Getting outside, she paused upon seeing smoke rising from the airfield. During the attack, they had been hit with conventional missiles. "John" she breathed, and ran for now destroyed tech building.

.

In Sarah's underground bunker, Allison got up and went to the door.

"Allison, what are you doing?" Sarah barked.

"I have to go get Mommy and Daddy and see if they are all right," Allison said in a stressed tone.

"Stay here. Allison, if you go out there, you will endanger yourself," Sarah snapped.

"I'll be OK, Gramma, I can fight back," Allison explained. She then opened the door and closed it behind her.

"ALLISON!" Sarah screamed.

.

Cameron was also aware Sky Net would descend on them some time soon. Running up to the remains of the newly rebuild tech building, she noticed the command building was burning. Not the yellow of a normal fire, but the bright glow of incendiaries. That meant the bunker below was doomed. The intense heat would burn right down through into the ground. If anyone was alive in there, they wouldn't be for long.

Digging into the rubble of the tech building, Cameron threw large chunks of debris to the side. She'd uncovered the stairway when a voice sounded out from behind and above her.

Mommy!" Allison cried as she flew in to land behind her. "We gotta find Daddy!"

"He's down here, help me dig," Cameron replied.

Debris didn't just come out, it flew out of the hole as Allison put all her mind hands to work clearing the stairway. Chunks of concrete and even broken beams shot up out of the hole. In no time, they cleared the stairway.

Allison dropped down in front of the door and banged on it. "DADDY, ARE YOU IN THERE?" she screamed.

Cameron pushed the talk button on the intercom beside the door. "This Cameron and Allison Connor outside. Is John in there?"

The door opened and John stuck his head out. His face was pale. Cam ... we didn't stop it," he said weakly.

In her flat tone, Cameron said, "I'm sorry, John. This place is not safe. Sky Net knows where it is. We have to go."

"Come on, Daddy," Allison said as she opened the door a little wider and clasped her father's hand. "The Sky Net's coming, we have to go."

"Mom's shelter," John said.

"We can expand it ..." Cameron said, then got a report from one of her drones. H/K's were coming. Hundreds of them. "We have to go now, H/K's are inbound."

Cameron ordered her drones to attack from the sides, and set dual lines of mini-Stugs at the base perimeter to intercept them. From the sheer numbers, she knew she was going to loose, but at least her machines would slow them down.

.

There were fifteen other techs with John. Six ran out to warn people as the rest followed John to his house. Cameron stayed at the back of the group with Allison, who was nervously watching behind them. As they ran, four mini-Stugs behind them kept pace. With the house in sight, they heard the distant roar of the mini-Stug cannons.

Her senses peaked from the adrenaline coursing through her system, Allison felt stray rounds coming at them. She knocked them away. "Mommy, they're getting closer!" she cried.

"I know," Cameron said flatly. Her drones were mixed up in air battles and falling out of the skies. Not enough H/K's fell. A large pack were still coming at the base, even though they were loosing numbers from her drone and mini-Stug attacks. The H/K's split up, forcing her to pull her machines into a large circle. H/K's were close enough now to shoot straight down onto her mini-Stugs, which could not shoot straight up. She maneuvered them to avoid as many hits as possible. The four behind her, she had spin around and drive backwards to target the H/K's over her force.

Something hit the back of Cameron's leg, causing it to buckle. She went down, stopping a few inches from the ground as Allison caught her.

"Sorry Mommy, I missed one," Allison cried.

"Go," Cameron told Allison and pushed her along. They then heard an H/K coming up fast behind them. Cameron turned as it appeared over her Stugs. She had no chance to move her machines to stop it.

Something snapped in Allison. She grew a snarl and shot up in the air at the H/K. "Leave My Mother ALONE!" she screamed. Thrusting two mind Hands quickly into it, the H/K exploded. Allison bounced back to the ground to fly up at another H/K. This one exploded as well.

Angry at these things for shooting her mother, Allison charged them. The third H/K was a little too high. She shot a long thin Hand out and grabbed it, pulling herself up. Close enough, she smashes this one, then another that was racing at them. Below, the Stugs that were not Mommy's were coming down the street. Allison dropped low and shot along above them, punching each one into the ground as she passed. At the end if the line she saw another H/K coming. She grabbed the last destroyed vehicle and flung it at the H/K with all the strength of her hate in the throw. The Stug came apart in the air. The H/K dodged the main body, but a road wheel was sucked into it's engine, blowing the engine up. The H/K spiraled down. A hard punch from a mind Hand finished it off to erupt in a ball of fire.

Even though Allison was angry, she did not flail out or loose her wits. Allison discovered a couple new things. Her mind Hands could work independent, not affecting her, or she could work them fixed to her body. When fixed to her body, they moved her, too. Grabbing large amounts of air, she could push herself up that way also. With controlling her Hand motions, she didn't seen to tire as easily.

It was also time to remember Sun Tsu. 'When you are strong, feign weakness, when you are weak, feign strength'. The H/K's were spread out and so were the Stugs. She had to get them chasing her.

Envisioning her Hands as propellers, Alison shot above the ground close enough for the Stugs to see, and also high enough for the H/K's to see. She didn't fight back, but dodged and deflected their rounds, zig zagging and using buildings for cover. Soon, a pack of H/K's were following her. The rounds that came close, Allison deflected to the sides.

Allison got down low and raced ahead to duck behind a building. She burst through the back wall and raced back through the building as the H/K's formed up to shoot her as she either came around the other side or the side she's ducked in on. Allison burst through the front wall and shot straight up and at the H/K's. In focused, powerful hits, she slammed down on six H/K's driving some to the ground and splitting a few others in two.

"Six for six, nothing but wreckage," she said, casting an evil grin at the destroyed machines.

Racing back the way she had come, Allison met another group of Stugs coming to get her. Again, a Hand fist down on each one squashed it flat, making a crater under the destroyed machine as bits flew away from the impact.

Hearing shots, Allison raced back where her family was. Another group of Sky Net mini-Stugs were attacking Mommy's. Allison got low, slinging herself along and split each one apart from behind. She got the ones trying to get around Mom's defense, the ones coming directly at them, then circled around and got the other ones trying to come from the other side. Once those were gone, she shot up above the house, snapping her head side to side, searching for more of those despicable things to destroy.

"COME ON!" Allison roared. "WHERE ARE YOU? YOU WANNA FIGHT? COME FIGHT ME!"

"Allison!"

John looked up at his daughter floating in the air a few hundred feet above the house. "Allison!" he screamed again. Seeing her look down, he waved in a large arm movement. He watched Allison plummet down, the ground thumped leaving two very large hand prints on either side of her just before she dropped in front of him.

"Is Mommy going to be OK?" Allison asked in a worried tone.

John was taken aback. Allison's eyes had turned red. Her face didn't look friendly at all. She bore a predatory look. "Sweetie, Mommy's hurt. What were you doing?" he asked.

"I killed those things, Daddy." Allison explained, "I am tired of them bothering us! No more! When they come, I will CRUSH them!" She then cocked her head and asked, "I hear more farther away. Do you need help fixing Mommy?"

"I can fix your mommy," John said vacantly as he looked at a girl who bore little resemblance to his sweet Allison.

"Then I'm going to go kill more of them," she stated. Allison bounced up onto the rooftop, then off into the sky towards Palmdale.

Allison was his sweet little girl. John also had to face the fact she was indeed a monster.

.

Allison had discovered what her classmates had been trying to coax her into during their experiments. The air blowing in her face from her speeding through the air, was taken care of by forcing a Hand into a cone directly in front of her. Her two 'propeller' Hands sped her along faster when she angled them the right way.

Ahead, an H/K was cruising low, shooting as a building. Allison flew over it, swiping it with a 'sword' mind Hand. The H/K split in half and exploded. Several were above Palmdale. She moved from one to another, destroying them. A pair charged her. She met them head-on, ramming a fist into each one, blasting them apart. On the ground, some Stugs were shooting. She dove down and destroyed them, leaving the remains in ten foot deep craters. Moving out to the suburbs, she found a few more and slammed them down into the ground.

Seeing a curious sight, Allison noted a pack of men walking along with guns. Allison dropped down in front of them. "You should all get inside," she told them.

They all responded by shooting at her. Allison stopped the bullets, frowning at them. The men kept waking towards her shooting until their guns ran out. Allison let all the spent bullets collected on her mind shield drop at once in a metallic rain.

"Who are you?" she asked in malevolent tone.

One cocked his head at her. "You are not human," he stated

"Are you?" she asked.

"Come with us, or we will kill you," he said in the same flat tone.

Allison laughed as she pointed at them. "YOU are going to kill ME?" she chuckled, and let out another belly laugh.

The men reloaded their guns and fired again in a relentless stream. Allison blocked these bullets with two mind hands then grabbed all seven of their heads and crushed. Their bodies jerked as heir heads crushed in on themselves, spitting out sparks. All seven collapsed to the ground. She picked up one and tore him apart. He had flesh, but was metal on the inside. Sky Net machines.

A brief sound of gunfire and screams came from a house ahead and off the road. Allison paused to lock onto the sound. A woman cried, begging for mercy. Another short round of gunfire sounded. Allison saw the large house it was coming from. Flinging herself just above the ground, Allison sped towards the house She went in through broken down front door to hear another door upstairs be kicked in. A pleading scream of, "Nooo!", gunfire, then only footsteps. Allison raced up the stars to see another man with a gun walking down the hallway.

"Hey, you!" Allison snapped.

The man spun and aimed at her. Allison snapped his wrist off, then dragged him to her. She pulled him upright, holding onto his arms and legs. He stared blankly at her.

"Metal head, do you have contact with Sky Net?" she asked.

He just stared at her.

"Must be dumber than you look," she mussed. She crushed his head, then ripped it off.

Allison let the body fall, the looked to see who else was alive here. The door he'd just came out of had a teenager crumpled in the corner, blood spattered everywhere. The girl was obviously dead.

"Hey, anyone alive here?" Allison called.

Allison looked in another room that wasn't locked. It looked like a study. "Hello?" she asked.

"Ally?" a tiny voice called.

Allison stepped back out to see a wide, eyed Byron peeking out at her. "Byron?" she asked.

"Ally!" Byron cried as he ran to her. Clasping her hand, he blubbered, "These guys came and started killing everyone! Mom told me to hide, but he was coming after me, I heard him! Come on, we gotta hide!"

"I got him," Allison said, pointing back towards the body. "Are you hurt?"

Byron shook his head. "I'm scared. I think Mom, Dad, and Gina are all dead," he said with a sniffle.

Allison had planned on hunting down every Sky Net thing she could find to destroy it. She hadn't planned on seeing Byron, and she was not going to leave him alone and scared. "Come with me, I'll take you someplace safe," she told him.

"You ... killed him?" Byron asked, seeing the headless body.

"Yes, and I will kill anyone else who tries to hurt you. I think I should take you home with me."

Byron nodded absently through his tears. "What about ..." he swallowed and didn't finish.

"I can't help them. I can save you, come on," Allison said and gently pulled him along.

Byron went with her. He screamed when he saw his sister's body. Allison had to help him keep his feet. He squeezed her hand hard with both of his, refusing to look anywhere except for down as they left. Allison diverted him out the back door so he wouldn't see the bodies of his parents.

As Allison walked along past the wrecked and burning houses , the shocked and dazed people only saw a girl leading a boy and looking like she knew where she was going. They followed her.

.

The inside of the Connor house was free of gas, and so far no radiation from the Geiger counter Sarah had set up. Cameron, John Henry and John Connor with two techs were in the living room piled with dirt from below from Sarah's efforts to enlarge the bunker.

John scanned his few people and said, "John Henry, see if you can get some form of communication up, you two guys, help him. Mom, see if anyone has medical experience. We need to set up an aide station. Cameron, what are your mini-Stugs finding?"

"Nothing active, John. Allison wiped out the remaining Sky Net forces here. She is currently in Palmdale. No H/K Activity left there. Allison has gone to ground level, most likely she is removing Sky Net ground units," Cameron replied in her flat tone.

John nodded and said, "Mom, give me anyone you can spare. I'm going out to look for survivors and see about transportation. Cam, try to find Allison and help her if you can. We need to find people and regroup."

.

Catherine Weaver extended her emergency radar and long range optical scanners. Her factory had been caught on the edges of the gas attacks. The reinforced seals of the factory held up. She knew many of her workers were probably going to die in the next few weeks from attempting to go home, even though they had been warned. She had to arraign full automation before then.

John Connor had given her the semi sentient AI programs for their war machines. Catherine send her mini-stugs out to ambush points to face the Sky Net force coming at her factory. She kept her drones in the hangers, missiles primed.

The H/K force lead the attack. Catherine waited until they were at close range, then launched her drones en-mass. The drones locked on and fired missiles as they climbed up to meet the H/K's. The H/K's received another volley, which thinned their ranks again. Then the drones used their lazers. Thinned out by Cameron's machines, then Allison, and now two missile volleys, the H/K's were finished off by the drones. Only a handful of Catherine's drones were left, but they were the only thing in the air. They flew on to hit Sky Net mini-stugs from the air as the attackers ran into her ambush points.

So far, from what Cathrine Weaver saw, it seemed like they were doing much better than the first Judgment day. Many more humans were left, and many cities that had been initially wiped out, were still standing. Many of the human armed forces around the world were on their knees, spread thin by their own attacks and Sky Net's onslaught. They were still standing, however.

.

In deserts and forests and other remote places of the world, antennas rose up from their underground storage. The Sky Net web came on line. All the initial mass attacks against general areas became more coordinated with communications. In an industrial section of Peking and in Hong Kong, H/K's dropped hundreds of gas bombs to eliminate any leftover humans. On the ground, Mini-stugs came in guarding the large machines carrying Sky Net equipment. Rolling over collapsed buildings, the mini-stugs shot into every apartment building and residence that still stood. If fires weren't burning under bridges or in tunnels, flame throwers poured fire into them to burn out any remaining humans. Wrecked industrial buildings were shored up and machines went to work salvaging and repairing so more machines could be made. This same procedure was happening In many cities around the globe.

The reports from the attack on the rough AI's were dismal. Once again, all Sky Net's forces were destroyed. Whatever weapon John Conner had developed, was very powerful. Unlike before, now Sky Net had a large land mass as a base. Soon, it would create an army so large, not even John Conner could not possibly stop it.

.

The airfield had gotten hammered. This time, there were no soldiers left except a few wounded few who'd managed to hide when Sky Net swept through. Everyone left on base, and the people who'd followed Allison back to base pulled together and began salvaging what they could. The base hospital was in ruins, a couple doctors and a handful of nurses who'd survived took over a quonset hut to begin a medical center.

The instant John found a working vehicle, he had a team head for Palmdale to see what help was needed there. John Henry had communications back up, and found the San Diego naval base had also gotten hit hard, as did many other places. From what he gathered, most of the Sky Net forces had been destroyed on the west coast and halfway to the Mississippi. East of the Mississippi, the fighting was still going on, but Sky Net was not winning the mass battle of attrition. Millions were dead, but they were not defeated.

Due to Russia and China nuking each other, heads of state were now listening to John Henry's pleas that one source was causing all of this devastation. China, India, North and South Korea as nations were gone, Russia was bad off as was Japan. The remaining human military powers called a cease fire on each other, and began grouping together against Sky Net machines.

.

John took charge of the base and directed people in everything from setting up a hospital, to organizing armed patrols and rescue efforts. John Henry managed to restore radio communications with a General Parks. John got on the radio and explained what their situation was, the few forces they had scraped together, and told him as soon as they were able, what he planned on.

"Sir, we are concentrating on building remote drone and small armored vehicles, our factory is still intact. So far, we have no men trained for combat. As soon as possible we will be recruiting. Anything you can send will be a big help," John explained.

"You said your name was Conner?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well damn fine job, Mr. Conner. You've done better there than just about anywhere else, and one of the few commands we have contact with. Look, I have to level with you. We got nothing to send, not even a damn boyscout with a slingshot. This is a time of crisis. As the new Chief of Staff, I'm making you General John Conner, in charge of the Southwest sector. That's California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Will you accept this responsibility?"

John sat stunned. "If you need me that badly, yes Sir," he said vacantly.

"Great. We've heard nothing from the Nevada command at all, and The last word from San Diego was they were under attack. There are some men up in Utah and out in Arizona. I'll inform them you're the man to see. At the moment, we need to concentrate on defense."

"Understood, Sir. John Henry is the communications man they can talk to," John said, his head still spinning from his sudden appointment.

"Right. I suppose you got a mess there, so I'll let you get to it. Good luck, General Conner."

John heard clapping behind him. Turning, he saw John Henry, Cameron, and six civilians from Palmdale, and a couple techs, cheering his appointment.

Cameron, still wearing a head band to cover her bare metal forehead, said, "Congratulations, General. What are your orders, Sir?"


	15. Chapter 15

CH 15. Allison the Hero

Allison found she liked building things almost as much as destroying Sky Net machines. Daddy wanted a deep underground bunker system made. Where the command building used to stand was a good place, there was already the remains of a bunker under it. Allison dug, slamming her mind Hands into first debris and softer gravel, then rock to rip out a tunnel bigger than any machine could. Following standard practice, she arched the ceiling for support. Fifty feet below ground, she began forming support columns and cut waste rock as square s possible for later building. Workers loading debris into trucks could barely keep up as her mind Hands caved the stone.

"Allison, quiting time," Byron called. Insistent he be allowed to do something to help, Byron was the official time keeper and message runner for the bunker project.

Allison looked up at the latest support column she'd made, a Roman style double arch using formed and cut stone. The center column was thick, and spread up to meet the ceiling and come back down on the sides. Pointing to her creation, she looked back at Byron and asked, "Like it?"

Byron nodded. "It looks really cool, Ally. Work's over for the day, time to go home."

Allison walked out of the now two hundred yard long tunnel. A quonset hut was set up over the opening to hide the importance of the dig. Two large air conditioning units were being set up in the back of the hut to pump fresh air down into the tunnel. These units had electrostatic filters as well as composite filters to remove radiation from the air. So far, there was none, but John knew it was coming from all the nuclear blasts.

They walked along the side, out of the path of trucks still removing the excess rock Allison had been busily digging out as the night finishing crews went in to make side passages and rooms off the main tunnel.

Outside, Allison noted another pair of drones taking off for their patrol. They had no more than left, when a cargo plane came in for a landing, bringing supplies.

"Ally, think our school is still there?" Byron asked.

"I hope so," Allison said with a sigh. "I hope everyone else is OK. It would be nice to know for sure."

"Yeah," Byron agreed. "I'm really afraid we are all that's left. Those Sky Net things killed a lot of people. It would suck if no one else survived."

Allison went over to the SUV that she'd bent back into shape. The engine was gone, it had been blown right out of the vehicle, but it still had four tires and seats. She climbed in the passenger side, Byron climbed in the driver's side.

"Not too fast, Ally," Byron reminder her.

Where the transmission hump used to be was now a big hole in the floor with the end of the drive shaft showing. Metal rod had been driven into the end of the drive shaft. Allison extended a mind Hand and turned the drive shaft. Byron steered as they drove the wobbly wheeled vehicle to the new command post.

John and Cameron were just coming out as Byron pulled up to the sidewalk. Allison stuck her head out the window and called, "Hi Dad, Mom. Can we give you a ride home?"

John shook his head as he chuckled. The vehicle was battered, but Allison had made it work enough so she and Byron had their own 'car'. "Shall we, hon?" he asked with a crooked grin. He walked to the back door and opened it with a squeak of abused hinges, motioning Cameron in first.

Cameron got in and leaned over to see how Allison was making the vehicle move. "Very inventive, Allison," she praised.

John had to slam the back door twice before it would stay shut. "Yes, sweetie, a very good use of resources," he agreed.

"Here we go!" Allison announced.

Despite the slight rocking motion from the bent wheels, John noted it wasn't a bad ride. Byron steered carefully, coaxing Allison to slow or go 'a little' faster. There were few usable vehicles left, and most of those made important runs to other places, so John wasn't above riding home in a vehicle his daughter had salvaged. Of course, following behind them was a mini-Stug, just in case.

After Sky Net had been defeated soundly in the area, nothing else had attacked them. John was relieved about that, but was also deeply concerned that no one had yet to venture into China or very far into Russia. Although the wars between the countries had all but stopped, instead of perusing a war against Sky Net, the UN was still bickering about who would be in charge of what, and which nations would take 'the lead' in the fight. They were holding their own countries and giving Sky Net plenty of time to build up forces.

Cameron perked up and looked at John. "John Henry received a report. The fracking wells in Utah are back in operation, as are two refineries. We should begin receiving gasoline within three days. All patrols are still reporting no Sky Net presence in our area."

"That's good news. What about the old circuit board plants? Any word on reviving them?" John asked.

"Not yet. The last word was they are being readied for operation. Myers has the circuit plans ready for them and waiting. We are running out of pre-manufactured parts and scavenged home computers," Cameron told him.

When the millions of people were gassed, they had left behind their electronics, which Catherine Weaver was salvaging, with John's orders to repurpose them into control boards for drones and mini-Stugs.

Due to the massive losses of of aircraft, John had also ordered every plane in the bone yards to be inspected. If it looked like it could fly again, the plane was towed out and fitted with equipment for use as a drone. He didn't care if it had a jet or a prop. If it could fly, it could be sent out as a forward screen to warn of incoming enemy, saving their remaining fighters and armed drones to deal with threats as they arose.

LAX, that used to be a civilian airport, now shared a sizable military branch. There, John had their latest improvised attack weapon assembled: the attack 747. The ex-passenger planes held all the room needed for four high powered lazer cannons as well as long range radar. With over sized fuel tanks and a crew of twenty, complete with on board quarters, the A-747 could stay aloft for thirty six hours, giving it the best on station time of any human controlled aircraft. He only had four, but six more planes were being refitted. When an A-747 took off, four drones controlled by pilots on board the A-747 escorted the craft. It was one of the projects he was taking to his first official meeting with Chief -of-Staff Parks.

"Allison, Monday I have to go to a meeting in Denver. I'd like you to come with me and talk to some men. They are very eager to meet you," John said.

"OK, Dad. Can Byron come too?" Allison asked.

"Sorry, sweetie, just you, me, Mr. Murch, Admiral Kelly, and Congressman Livingston."

"Mommy's not coming?" Allison asked as she looked back at them.

"I have to stay and run things while your Daddy is away," Cameron explained.

"Oh. That's sad, I'm going to miss you, Mommy. You too, Byron," Allison said with a frown.

"Me too, Ally ... Um, Ally, slow down, we're here," Byron said, the last part sounding concerned.

They recoiled forward as Allison quickly slowed the vehicle with only a short chirp of the tires. Byron pulled into the driveway. The jerk when they stopped wasn't that bad.

.

Monday morning, Allison went with John to his office to collect together the information he had for General Parks. Allison carried one of the packed briefcases, John carried the other one. Cameron saw them off on the A-747 that had come to take them.

The plane was heavily guarded. Cameron had mini-Stugs in sight, there were a squad of marines and the four drones that belonged to that plane were on the runway in front of it. Allison also noted men in black suits and more guards were by a metal box frame that was set up to allow entry into the area the big plane was in.

John talked to a security man. He stepped into the metal frame waited a moment, then he was motioned on. When Allison stepped in, a red light flashed and a horn sounded. The men at the control box stared

at their monitor, shifted their stare to Allison, then back to the monitor again.

"My daughter has metal bones," John reminded them.

"Ah, yeah. We've never seen anything like this before. She have a horrible accident?" a security man asked.

"No she was born like that."

"Damn. OK, no weapons showing, so continue on." the man said with a wave.

Allison giggled. She didn't carry any weapons, she was a weapon. They were stopped again at the stairs up into the plane, the man there identified who they were, then said, "Welcome aboard,

General."

"Daddy, why are all those men here?' Allison asked as they got on.

"Congressman Livingston is going with us. This security is for him, sweetie," John explained.

Allison had seen big passenger planes on TV, but the inside of this plane was not the long rows of seats like those were. There was a spiral stairway in what looked like a lounge area, but the inside was a long, narrow hallway with doors off to the sides. A man in a blue uniform took them down a ways and into a room that looked like a small hotel room. There was a bed against one wall, a desk and fixed chair against the other, overhead storage and a door for the bathroom.

John opened a long panel over the bed to reveal another smaller fold out bed. "If you get tired, sweetie, you sleep up here."

Allison bounced up onto the bed. There wasn't much headroom, and she couldn't see out the single window, but she did have a net against the wall for putting things in. "How long are we going to be

flying?" she asked, wondering why they needed beds on an airplane.

"Don't know Sweetie, only the pilot knows the destination. This is a sensitive meeting. Lots of important people are going to be there."

"That means you are very important, Daddy!" Allison beamed at him.

A knock came at the door. John answered it. "Yes?" he asked.

"Passenger check," the blue uniformed man said. "General John Connor and Allison Connor?"

"That's us."

"Everyone is aboard, We will be taking off in five minutes, Sir."

"Thank you."

.

The Captain announced takeoff. Allison watched out the window as the plane powered up, taxied, then with a steady push of the whining jet engines, sped up down the runway. She felt the plane tip, then the ground fell away. They rose and turned, she caught sight of a drone winging by just above and to the side.

The speaker on the wall announced, "The is the captain, we are leveling off at twenty thousand feet. The VIP lounge is now open, refreshments are available. Myself and my crew would especially like to welcome aboard the Drone Ace, Allison Connor and congratulate her on her outstanding kill record."

"Dad, what's an ace drone?" Allison asked.

John snickered. "Hon, I think someone has gotten some mis information. I think he meant to congratulate you on all those Sky Net machines you destroyed."

"What does that have to do with drones?" Allison asked, confused.

Casting her a smirk, he said, "Sweetie, they don't realize you don't need an aircraft to fly."

"Oh."

"Ready to meet some important people?" John asked, and offered his hand.

Allison took it with a nod.

.

Upon entering the lounge, Allison only recognized one person, Mrs. Weaver's employee, Mr. Murch. He was talking to a round, balding man who had alot of worry lines on his face. "Hi, Mr. Murch!" Allison said as she waved.

Mr. Murch turned to see her, and returned her smile. "Hello, Allison. Congratulations, General Connor," he added, tipping his glass to John.

The man with Mr. Murch frowned slightly. "General Connor?" he asked, holding his hand out.

"Yes, sir," John replied, and shook his hand. "Congressman Livingston, I presume?"

"Yes," Congressman Livingston said, then eyed Allison. "I had been expecting to meet drone ace Allison Connor, not her daughter."

"Sir, the drone ace is my wife, Cameron Connor," John explained. "She controls our drones. Allison here doesn't need a craft to fly."

Livingston eyed John and said, "General, I have no time for foolishness. We have serious matters to discuss."

Feeling like this big man was calling her Daddy a liar, Allison said, "Daddy, Congressman, would like a snack?" She reached out and brought the shrimp platter over to hover in front of her father.

"Thank you, sweetie," John said with a smile.

"Hold that tray," Mr. Murch said, and grabbed a shrimp off it.

"Congressman?" Allison asked as the man stared at the tray.

"How are you doing that?" Livingston asked.

Cheerfully, Allison said, "I have invisible hands. Our class did an experiment to see how well they work. I have ten Hands I can use all at once. They will move or chop anything I want them to, and the day we did the experiment I was able to reach out two hundred seventy eight point five feet from where I was standing. But the day those Sky Net things attacked us, they shot my mom and I got really mad at them. I think I reached out a lot farther. They wouldn't go away, so I whacked them away as fast as I could. Once Mom and Dad were safe, I used my Hands to fly to Palmdale to protect the people there. I found other Sky Net machines, so I smashed them too.

"Fifty six ground machines, sixty seven drones, and eight terminators," John added. "And that's not counting when Allison intercepted and destroyed thirty eight ground machines and an H/K threatening her classmates at school."

Congressman Livingston stared at John, then moved his stare back to Allison. "You did all that being so little?" he asked in disbelief.

Allison frowned at him. "Mr. Congressman, I may be little, but I got strong mind Hands. I'm not going to let anyone hurt my family." she said firmly.

"Sounds like Supergirl," he said vacantly. "General, I heard you were useing drones."

"We are," John agreed. "Zeita Corp builds them, Cameron controls them. She has a fairly impressive kill record, roughly three to one against the Sky Net machines."

"Congressman," Mr. Murch said, "Since I've been working for Mrs. Weaver and met the Connors, I have seen some amazing things. Trust me, if anyone can beat Sky Net, it's the Connors."

"If you have some time, Mr. Livingston, I can show you the projects we are working on." John offered. "Besides air and ground drones, this plane, the 'A-747', is one of our completed projects. A manned, lazer attack aircraft that can stay airborne for thirty six hours. It has four high power lazers, and a squad of four escort drones to help defend itself, find targets or help triangulate targets without the use of external resources," John explained.

"Yes, I would indeed like to see your projects, General."

.

Allison stayed nearby as John showed the Congressman other projects, like the next generation missile that used a carbon fiber shell to absorb radar waves so it was a 'stealth' weapon, as well as the semi-intelligent guidance that could avoid anti-missile fire, and a 'drift in' mode that cut the engine so the tail fire wasn't seen as it came close to the target. To get as many scouts in the air as possible, John designed a 'drone package' that could be fit into any airplane to make it a drone scout, or cruise missile as the need arose. The 'triple pulse' rail gun design that promised to accelerate rounds past mach 11, making the gun virtually an intercontinental projectile launcher. With this gun, they could drop artillery shells on Vladivostok, Russia from Beverly Hills.

As Congressman Livingston listened to the high tech gadgetry that John and his team were working on, his eyes kept drifting over to Allison, who was looking out a window as she munched on a sandwich.

"General Connor, everything you've showed me is very impressive," Livingston said, "But I must say your daughter is the most impressive. How old is she?"

"Six years and..." John said. In his hesitation, Allison looked over and said, "Six years, seven months, twenty five days."

"Thank you, sweetie," John said casting her a smile. "And she's a genius," John said proudly. "Sweetie, you're in Fifth grade now, correct?"

Allison bounced her head in a nod. "I am. Speaking of that, Daddy, do you know when Byron and I can go back to school?"

"I don't know yet, hon. The Mayor of Palmdale is suppose to tell us when they get the education system reorganized. I'll let you know just as soon as I do."

Congressman Livingston barked out a laugh. "All that, and a genius too. Allison isn't an ... engineered child, is she?" he asked.

"No, she's not," John said firmly. "We just happened to get very lucky."

"There must have been some genetic engineering involved," Congressman Livingston stated. "Extremely powerful mind powers, a mental giant, and I understand her bones are metal? That sounds like a bit more than luck to me."

John explained about Cameron being a re-programmed terminator and their relationship, and Lucy who provided the DNA so Cameron could have children. After John's explanation, Allison pipped up with, "I have Mommy's bones, Lucy's Hands, and Daddy's smart brain!"

Listening intently, Congressman Livingston said, "So Alllison has non-human DNA in her."

"She does."

"Are there any other of these Yokai about?"

John shrugged and said, "I have no idea. We know they can come and go to our world. Lucy came back briefly to offer Allison a place in a school of theirs, but she was already going to school and neither Cam nor I felt comfortable with Allison being so far away."

The overhead speaker announced, "Attention, this is the Captain. We will be beginning our descent into Nellis shortly. All passengers please take seats in the lounge or your compartments. All crew to your assigned stations."

"That was fast," John noted.

"And unplanned," Congressman Livingston said flatly as he frowned. "I understood we were headed for NORAD."

Admiral Kelly came over and introduced himself to the congressman. As the only Admiral left in John's area, he controlled what was left of the Navy, which was small craft and a couple destroyers. As he settled down, he said, "I understood we were going to NORAD, General."

"Apparently others did also," John said. To Allison beside him, John said, "Be ready for anything, sweetie."

Allison nodded. "Don't worry, Daddy, I'll protect everyone," she assured him.

.

They landed at a field that had only a few buildings standing. The control tower was a tall thin structure that bore bare metal supports like it had just been erected. The plane taxied over to a large group of people that were ringed by Humvee mounted guards sporting machine guns facing away. Getting off the plane, cameras took pictures. John noticed two other generals and several men in black suits as well as a few reporters.

John met and shook hands with General Parks and a few other Senators and Representatives. He also noted their mood was sombre.

"I wish our meeting could be under better circumstances," General Parks explained. "Some Sky Net H/K's jumped the president's plane and his escorts. All were lost. The vice President was killed a few days ago. Mr, Livingston, as Speaker of the house, you are now President. We need to get you sworn in as quickly as possible."

"Do we know where the H/K's came from?" John asked.

"Canada, we suspect. We can deal with that later. We have urgent business here and now," General Parks stated.

Congressman Livingston shook his head sadly. "This is indeed a dark hour. Too many good men lost."

A black suited security man held his hand to his ear and said, "Sirs! The outer picket just got overflown by boogies, fast and low."

"Get everyone inside the bunker!' General Parks ordered.

"Where are they coming from?" Allison asked.

An officer came to the door of the 747 and yelled, "We have incoming, bearing zero six one!"

"Get that plane in the air, NOW!" John roared. "Allison, make sure they can take off."

"You got it, Dad!" Allison said, then jumped straight up in the air. The men hustling to get under cover paused as she shot up in the sky.

"I'll be dammed," Livingston said as he watched her.

.

Allison stood on a tripod of mind Hands, looking out at the horizon. Shifting her vision to infrared, she scanned for the H/K's. Seeing the drones heading out in one direction, their engines bright red spots in her vision, she noted more beyond them, and a few far to their left. Knowing the drones would fight, she watched the ones to the left as the plane below her started moving.

The H/K's to the left were very low and passed the drones, heading right for the base in a line. Allison charged them, dropping lowed than they were. Just before she met them, she shot higher in the air. She smashed down in the first one, driving it into the ground, then the second. The last three split to the sides. She got the closest one, chopping it in half, and grabbed a piece to throw it at the fourth one. The fourth H/K dodged, shooting higher in the air. With an H/K on either side of her, she went for the fifth one.

The fourth H/K exploded, being hit by lazer fire from the A-747. The fifth H/K dove low to avoid a lazer shot. Allison caught up to it and slammed that one into the ground.

Searching for more enemy, Allison noted only a few H/K's were fighting the drones. Ten more were racing at the plane lined up for takeoff. She charged them. A couple turned to intercept her. They fired missiles that she swatted out of the air. One H/K came close enough, she punched it, making it explode. The other chased her as she bore down on the main group. The group lost two more units to the A-747's lazers.

Another missile came racing at her from behind. Allison grabbed it and flung it at the lead H/K. Trying to turn around, the missile rammed another H/K, downing that one. Allison them dove onto the pack, slashing and punching. In a short time, all the H/K's were destroyed. Allison looked back to see three drones were returning, chasing a pair of H/K's. They shot their lasers, the H/K's exploded.

"Yes!" Allison cried and clenched a fist. She returned to the building to see a few men watching her as the A-747 took off. Allison felt good, her Daddy had been watching.

Landing with a slap of mind hands that left impressions in the concrete, Allison beamed a smile at her father. "We got-em, Daddy!" she announced.

"Great job, sweetie," John replied.

"I was expecting this," General Parks said grimly. "General Connor, I was hoping you could turn the tide on these ambushes. We encrypt and encode, and change out encryptions daily, but somehow Sky Net has still been listening to our communications. Every top level transport has been intercepted in route, or upon landing. I'm glad you had the ability to fight it off."

"That's why we were told we'd be going to NORAD," Admiral Kelly said.

"That is exactly why," General Parks stated. "We sent out a normal encryption arraigning a top level meeting at NORAD. To the pilots coming here, we send the information in the newest double encryption code. Both codes were broken."

"Sky Net has antennas in the US," John noted.

"Yes, General. We need to find them. We are getting decimated. The only reliable communication we have is face to face by way of courier," General Parks explained.

John thought for a moment, then said, "I'll have John Henry come up with a code that's a little more secure. In the mean time, I would suggest the old-fashion route. Besides face to face, we use shielded phone lines. If Sky Net wants to tap into those, they have to make a direct connection. We can monitor for that."

General Parks nodded. "Good thinking, General Connor. Now, let's get Mr. Livingston sworn in."

.

The ceremony for swearing in President Livingston was short. Directly after being sworn in, President Livingston officially made General Kelly the Chief-of-Staff, and General Connor the combined forces General of the West Coast region. Allison received a Congressional Medal of Honor for her efforts in defeating Sky Net's attacks.

After receiving her medal, which she let her Daddy put on her, Allison beamed him a smile and said, "I can't wait to go home and show this to Mommy and Byron!"


	16. Chapter 16

CH 16. Return to school

Dietrich Academy had been leveled during the Sky Net attack. As a primary target, It had gotten hit before Sky Net had moved farther into Palmdale. Dan, Katy and Miss Jacobs had been among the lives lost. The school building was gone, as were other schools. Gloria Weston, Allison's teacher, had survived and formed a new higher-IQ school in a few rooms of the still standing Palmdale High.

Getting ready for their first day back at school, Allison and Byron put on their Dietrich uniforms, Allison added her Medal of Honor, pinning it just above the Dietrich emblem on her jacket. With directions in hand to their new classroom, Allison and Byron went to the bus stop with Savannah and six other kids. Where there use to be three separate stops for various schools, only one remained. There was only one school and many fewer students left.

"Hi, Allison," Savannah said, waving to her. "I heard you've been busy."

"Hi Savannah, I'm happy you're OK. Where have you been?" Allison asked as she and Byron came up to the group.

"Mom had me stay in the factory for a while," Savannah said with a wince. "It was one of the few safe places. What's that?" she asked, pointing to Allison's medal.

"Allison got the Congressional Medal of Honor for kicking ass on those Sky Net machines," Byron said proudly. "You should see her fight!"

An older boy stared at Allison, and asked, "You're Allison Connor? Holy shit, you're what, seven?"

"Six years eight months and one day," Allison told him.

"What are you?" a girl asked, scrunching her face up at Allison.

"What do you mean?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, you look weird," another boy said.

As Allison gapped at her, Byron spoke up. "I'll tell you what Ally is," he said angrily. "Ally is the Christmas Tree pretty girl who saved YOU from Sky Net. She is stronger, faster and smarter that you will ever be, so show a little respect, huh?"

Savannah chuckled at Byron, the other kids took a step back from his anger.

"Yeah, OK, back off," the girl said defensively.

"That medal, it's only given to the biggest heros," the older boy said. "I heard radio broadcasts telling about Allison Connor's victories over Sky Net. I just never thought you'd be so small."

"Yeah, well, she'll grow up!" Byron snapped.

Allison put a hand on Byron's shoulder and said, "Byron it's OK. Calm down."

Frowning at her, Byron said, "I just don't want anyone talking bad about you, Ally. You deserve better than that."

"Ally's got a boyfriend," Savannah sang.

Allison blushed, Byron only nodded and eyed the group, daring anyone to say anything bad about Allison.

The older boy stepped over to Allison and extended his hand. "I'm Jerry, it's good to meet you, Allison."

Allison shook his hand. "Thank you, Jerry," she said pleasantly.

The bus came, bearing a few patches on the sides and plywood over a few of the windows. Seeing the bus, Allison wondered how bad of shape the school was in.

.

Palmdale High was a single floored school shaped in an 'H' At the entrance, a depiction of the school building had numbers with a legend to the side telling what each number was. One one arm and a small section of another was the High School, another was 1-4, a 5-6 section, a kindergarten/preschool section, and on the end of one arm just past the 1-4 section was listed as 'Dietrich'.

Allison and Byron headed for their section on the end. On the way, other kids stared at them. Teachers were by the doors to their classrooms to help students find the right class. Passing a first grade classroom, the teacher saw them coming and said, "Allison! In here dear. My, what did you do to your hair? And what is that you're wearing on your head?"

"I'm Allison Connor, not Allison Lynn," Allison explained.

The teacher laughed and said, "Yes, every girl wants to be Allison Connor. Come on dear, this is your classroom."

"Ma'am? This IS Allison Connor," Byron told her. "Allison Lynn has brown hair."

"We go to Dietrich, down the hall," Allison supplied.

The teacher frowned at her, studying her closely. "You are not Allison Lynn?"

Allison shook her head.

"Hey, it's the other Allison!" a girl said. Allison turned to see Allison Lynn coming with two other girls and a boy. Her arm was in a cast.

They exchanged 'hi Allison' s. Allison Connor pointed to the cast and asked, What happened to your arm?"

"Our house fell down when something hit it. We were trapped, that was really scary!" Allison Lynn said, wide eyed. "Mom got her leg broke, and Dad is still in the hospital. My older sister was away at college, so she's OK."

"I'm glad it wasn't worse," Allison Connor offered.

"Are you going to school with us now?" Allison Lynn asked.

"We got to Dietrich, down the hall."

"We have lunch at twelve, want to go to lunch together?"

"OK! See you then."

"Bye, Allison."

"Bye, Allison."

Allison and Byron kept going. They saw Gloria standing in the doorway and ran to her.

"Gloria!" Byron said happily. They met her with a hug. Becky came out to return hugs with them. Like Allison and Byron, she had her Dietrich uniform on. Allison was happy to see they were OK, and a bit sad that they were the only survivors.

"Go in and pick a seat," Gloria told them. "We have students from Junior two that are joining us."

Allison picked a seat near Becky, Byron sat on Allison's other side. Three more students came in. Two were Jerome and Gertrude from the other junior class, the third was a new student named Arnold. Arnold was a thin boy with short, sandy hair, and no uniform. He wore a plain red shirt and jeans. Seeing he was the only one without a uniform on, he cringed.

"Did I need one of those suits too?" he asked meekly.

"That's all right for now, Arnold, we'll get you one later," Gloria assured him. "Tell the class about yourself, Arnold," she coaxed.

Not quite looking at anyone, he said, "Hi, I'm Arnold. I'm eleven and since I do very good at school, My teachers said I should come here."

"Hi Arnold," everyone chorused.

"Arnold, do you play the realistic war games on computers?" Becky asked.

"Yeah, some," he said in his meek tone.

"Great! Byron is going to need a partner," Becky beamed.

"No I'm not, Ally is my partner," Byron told her indignantly.

"Can't we do girls against boys?" Becky asked.

"But I like playing with Byron," Allison complained. There was a pause, then the older kids started snickering.

"Arnold," Gloria said, holding back her mirth. "Allison, Byron and Becky are studying tactics and strategies as an elective course. If you choose to, and keep up with your other school work also, you can join them if you like."

"We were going to study the world war two Battle of Kursk next, then play a game about it if you'd like to join us," Allison offered.

Arnold shook his head. "I'm not into that stuff. I like science. Chemistry and electrical properties."

"Science is good," Becky said, smiling at him.

"Please take any seat you want, Arnold," Gloria told him.

"Hey, Allison?" Becky asked, "The real strategy and tactics I'd like to hear about is your battle with Sky Net. Did you think tactically, of did you just ... run into them one after the other?"

"I followed Sun Tzu," Allison told her. "OK at first I went after them because they shot my Mom, but after I was engaged, I went by Sun Tzu principals. Feign weakness when you're strong and surprise attack. I fled and made them group up and chase me. That also led them away from my house. When they were all after me, I turned and attacked. Next, I used Sun Tzu's principal when the enemy is larger, take them on a piece at a time. That worked well over Palmdale. By the time I found Byron, the last one I found was in his house so I got rid of it, then escorted Byron to my house so he'd be safe."

"I must say, your tactics worked well," Gloria offered. "Instead of studying the Kursk battle, then playing it, how about if after you study it, we have a class discussion of what you think should have happened?"

"I like that idea," Becky said.

"Yeah, let's do that!" Byron agreed.

"Sounds good to me," Allison agreed.

"All right, that will be Friday's discussion," Gloria said, and marked it down. "Be sure you have all your information and theories on how you think each side should have handled that battle." She then consulted a notebook and said, "I've lost many of my notes and your files are under rubble. SO, I know where Becky, Allison and Byron were, by I don't have any information on Jerome or Arnold, or Gertrude. Gertrude, do you have a nickname you like people to use?"

"Trudy, if that's OK."

"Trudy it is. How about you, Arnold?"

Arnold shrugged. "Arnies' fine."

Very well then, Artie. You, Trudy, and Jerome are going to have to take placement tests to see where you're at," Gloria said, which caused Jerome and Trudy to groan. "I'm sorry, but I don't have access to your records. If you bring your diploma's from each year in, I can start with those to save time. Allison, Becky and Byron, you're going to have to retake a few tests also. Not as many, but the last ones are gone."

Byron let out a huff and asked, "Today's going to be all paperwork, isn't it?"

"It's a necessary evil," Gloria said with a crooked grin. "look at the bright side, we get to take a trip to the school library to pick up the books we'll need. Then we go get physicals."

Another groan met her announcement.

.

The physicals were after lunch, so they all went to lunch as a class. Being the only kids in uniforms, they stuck out from the rest of the crowd. Allison didn't feel comfortable with all eyes in the cafeteria on her. Noticing a hand waving at one of the tables, she spotted Allison Lynn. Allison waved back to her. She showed her pass to the monitor and got in line behind Jerome, trying to hide between him and Byron. Arnie got behind Byron, looking like he wanted to hide also.

They meandered forward towards the serving line. A couple boys with crooked grins got up and walked down the line towards them. Allison braced herself for the 'you look weird' comments. As she held her breath, they walked past.

"Hey Arnold, the party man! Where you been hiding?" one said.

"Yeah, you skipping class to avoid us?" the other asked.

"I'm in a different class now," Arty said meekly.

"And you didn't stop by," one said in a huff. "That could be bad for you, Arnold."

"Real bad. Don't you owe us something?" the boy asked, and held his hand out.

Byron frowned at them as Arnie dug in his pocket. "What does he owe you?" he asked.

Both boys stared at Byron as Arnie let out a groan.

"You're a little squirt too, huh? I bet you need protecting. Something bad could happen to you," one said firmly.

"Give us your allowance, and we'll make sure you stay safe," the other agreed.

Byron snorted and said, "I don't think so."

"You will," the first one growled and stood up in his face. "Who knows what could happen if you're caught outside the school."

Allison turned and pushed the boy into the other one. "Be on your way," she said firmly.

The boys scowled at her. "You just made a serious mistake, ya little freak. We were going to leave you alone since you're a girl."

"Don't let that stop you from running while you can," Allison grated.

The boys looked around then moved to up to her to intimidate her. Allison lifted off the floor to eyeball them face to face. She then reached out with her physical hands, grabbed them by their shirts and picked them off the floor. Both their faces bore shock.

"We got things trying to kill us, and you like picking on people smaller than you?" Allison asked in a growl, as she scowled at each one in turn. "Let me tell YOU how it's going to be! You will not bother anyone else, or I will come bother YOU. If I even hear a rumor about you picking on or bullying anyone I will make your lives miserable. I will become your worst nightmare and there will be no escape!" she then tossed them both back to land on their butts. She settled down to stand on the floor, eyeing them.

"Who the fuck are you?" one wide-eyed boy blurted out.

"Allison Kaeda Connor, pleased ta meet ya," Allison said in a hard tone. "Remember me, because I am going to remember you."

Allison got back in her place in line as the boys scrambled up and hurried away. She also noted the cafeteria had fallen silent. Everyone was staring at her. When the chatter in the large room started back up, it was all hushed whispers. Allison knew it was because she'd used her mind hands and there was sure to be trouble over it. At the moment, she didn't care. She was not going to let anyone bully her friends.

Allison was fully expecting to have the table they sat down at out clear out to stay away from her. He settled down across from Allison Lynn. A thin boy came over to sit down and thank her for taking care of those guys. He left, and a couple more came over. After them, five girls came to sit down and asked Allison about her medal, and more came to crowd around the table to find out if what they heard on the news was true that she had single handedly destroyed every H/K over the city. Many wanted her autograph. A few kids crowded around her to get their pictures taken with her.

This time, using her mind Hands had gotten her unexpected results.

.

At John's new command post inside the now reinforced tunnels Allison had helped construct, the world map on the large table showed red spots where Sky Net had taken over. There was a lot of red on the map. What was more disturbing was a new red spot was put in Central America. Seeing the woman who put it there, John asked, "What exactly is the situation in Central America?"

"Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Sir. La Cruz in Costa Rica has been overrun with Sky Net, so has Rivas, Jinotepe, and Granada in Nicaragua. Masaya is under attack, and the people trying to flee are being slaughtered on the roads," The woman said in a hollow tone.

"Why?" John asked himself. It's not like Central America had much in the way of industry or high tech. They were not in any way a threat to Sky Net's power. It seemed like Sky Net was killing just to kill. Of course Sky Net would take any opportunity to kill people, but why there, and not get rid of the higher tech countries first?

"General, the projected radiation reports you asked for?" another woman said, and handed him the paper.

"Thank you," John said absently. He could understand China, Russia and Europe, and Australia but why attack Central America? John shifted his attention to the wind borne radiation expected from Asia. He looked at the projected clouds, their arrival time, and area of the greatest impact. They would start seeing radioactive clouds in a couple months, by six months it would cover the US and the upper parts of Mexico, then cross the ocean to cover Europe. So far, his plans to harvest everything possible before the radiation got here, and build the radiation-free farms looked like it was on track. By winter they should have enough cover for emergency crops and small livestock. He ordered all cattle to be slaughtered and processed as fast as possible to store all the meat they could before the first radioactive rains fell.

John then looked at the Central American attacks again, and back at the radiation forecasts.

He got it. Sky Net wasn't after tech in this attack, it was working to destroy their remaining sources of food next year that would not be contaminated with radiation. Since Sky Net could not defeat them militarily, it was going to try and starve them to death. John was already working on anti-radiation devices to clean the air and maintain radiation free gardens, but if North America was cut off from Central and South American food, hundreds more millions were going to die. Beside the radiation in the clouds, the endless cloud cover itself was going to lower temperatures, meaning the only places left to grow food on Earth would be near the equator. He was sure Mid and Southern Africa were also going to be Sky Net's next target.

John walked into John Henry's new communication center. He had to get word about this out as fast as possible.

.

After her lunch that she barely ate anything at due to all the attention, Allison went with her class to the nurse's office. She waited her turn to get her vital's taken. The nurse finished with Becky, then had Allison stand against the wall to measure her height. Next was the scale for her weight. The nurse frowned and had Allison step back off it. She zeroed the scale and had Allison get back on. The reading was the same.

97 pounds.

The nurse looked Allison up and down and asked, "Why do you weigh so much? You don't look like you should be more than sixty, sixty five tops."

"I have metal bones like my mom," Allison explained.

"Metal bones? Your mother has metal bones?" the nurse asked skeptically.

"Uh-huh, like my nubs here. They are part of my skull," Allison said pointing to her horns.

The nurse inspected her scalp and quickly wrote some notes on her chart. "This is highly unusual," she muttered. She then had Allison sit, and took her blood pressure.

140 over 75

"Very high for a child," the nurse noted. "Do you feel OK, sweetie?"

"Just fine," Allison replied.

Allison got to take a seat as Becky was called in to see the doctor. Byron was measured and came over to sit by her.

"The nurse looked confused when she measured you," Byron said with a grin.

"Yeah, I think she expected me to be more like everyone else," Allison mussed.

"Nope, you are the one and only Christmas tree pretty girl there is," Byron said confidently, which made Allison blush.

Becky came out and the doctor called, "Allison Connor?"

Allison went in to see an older woman writing on a chart. The doctor looked up briefly. "Hello, Allison, get up on the table, please." Looking at the chart, the doctor asked, "You don't feel bad in any way, do you?"

Allison thought about it and said, "Kinda, I lost some friends because of Sky Net, and Mom got shot in the leg. I feel bad about that."

The doctor pinched her lips together and said, "We all do, hon. What I mean is, do you feel bad inside. Any headaches, soreness, tight feeling in your chest, tingling arms? Anything like that?"

"No, I'm fine."

The doctor took a tiny light and told Allison to look straight ahead. She shown it in one eye, then the other. Frowning, the doctor did it again. "This is strange. Have you had any eye surgery?"

"No, nothing. Why do you ask?"

The doctor shown the light in her eyes again and said, "It appears you have two irises in each eye, one behind the other."

Allison thought for a second, then changed her vision so she could see in the dark. "How about now?"

"You ... How did you do that? Your inner irises just shrank back into your pupils!" the doctor exclaimed.

Allison returned her vision to normal seeing. "I dunno, I've always been able to change my vision. I can see good during the day," she then changed her vision again, "And at night."

"Incredible," the doctor said in a breath. She made a few notes on the chart.

Next, the doctor shown a light in her ears. Hearing the doctor whisper something under her breath, Allison turned up her hearing.

"I'm sorry, doctor, I didn't catch that," she said.

The doctor gasped and asked, "What did you just do?"

"I couldn't hear you, so I listened closer. Why?"

The doctor shook her head. "Your ear canal just opened up twice the size it should be! Can you close your hearing off too?" she asked in dis-belief.

"Yup."

The Doctor watched as her ear canals closed down to pinpoints for a few seconds, then returned to normal. "My dear, you are a very unusual child," she said, amazed at what she was finding.

"Thank you!" Allison beamed.

The doctor hadn't meant it as a compliment, but decided not to say anything and get on with the examination. She checked Allison's breathing and heat beat, which seemed normal, then had her cross her legs for the nerve response test. The doctor tapped Allison's hanging leg on her knee. Her leg kicked up as a loud BOOM sounded. Recoiling, the doctor ducked and looked to see a big hole in the wall. Someone screamed in the waiting room on the other side of the wall.

"I'm sorry!" Allison cried. "I almost hit you!"

Byron's face appeared in the hole. "Ally, you OK?" he asked.

"Yeah... I'm so sorry, it just happened! Is everyone OK in there?" Allison cried as she turned red with embarrassment.

"WHAT just happened?" the saucer eyed doctor all but screamed, now terrified of this girl.

"You hit my knee and a mind Hand just shot out and hit the wall. I couldn't help it!" Allison said, wearing a crimson face.

"A mind Hand?" the doctor asked weakly.

"Yeah, Ally has long invisible hands she controls with her mind. They are really strong too!" Byron explained. To Allison he said, "We're OK, Ally, no one got hit by anything solid, just bits of plaster and wood."

Taking deep breaths to calm herself, the doctor said, "I think we're done .. for the day."


	17. Chapter 17

CH 17 Allison goes to war

General Gates agreed to see the young, feisty Colonel Augustine Basurto of Ortega's army. He wasn't looking forward to it, the Nicaraguans were being attacked by Sky Net, and he had nothing else to throw at them. The H/K's that raided them the other day destroyed the last aircraft he had, and got the fuel dump, as well as killed many of the badly needed forces he had left. He was sure Ortega wanted him to support them, and he had nothing left. He doubted they would believe that.

His aide knocked in his office door. "General, Colonel Basurto is here, Sir."

Gates stiffened himself and said, "Show him in."

The young man who strode in was in his twenties. His uniform was as sharp as his stride radiated confidence and determination. He strode up to General Gates' desk, came to attention and saluted. In English with a Spanish accent, he said, "General, I do not have time for pleasantries. I must insist you surrender your base and allow us to take your equipment for use against the attackers."

Put off by the man's directness, Gates eyed him. "Look, Colonel. I know you're in a tough spot. Hell, we are too. I don't have any helicopters left. Even if I did, I have no fuel to fly them. If we had anything to use against Sky Net, believe me, I'd have it off the base and into the fight. The fact of the matter is, I don't."

"Sir," Colonel Basurto said crispy. "I did not ask for assistance. I demanded your surrender. I have dealt with Americans before and found them less than trustworthy. My people are being slaughtered, Sir! This is not a time where I will allow any weapons to be secreted away for your own protection. I strongly ask you submit and avoid any bloodshed."

"Are you crazy?" Gates asked as he stood to face the man. "Colonel, do you realize you are committing an act of war against the United States?"

"General, I have full authorization do to whatever I must do to protect our people! They are my one and only concern. If you are truly a man of morals, then you will surrender peacefully. War with the United States means nothing to me if we have already been wiped out."

General Gates was about to reply when a strong blast of wind blew in through the window, scattering papers as a jet engine sounded outside. His words turned into a "'What the hell!"

Shielding their faces against the jet blast coming in the window, Gates watched a Harrier jet drift down and land right outside the building.

"Who is that idiot!" Gates roared. He marched out of his office with Colonel Basurto right behind him.

The pilot shut down and opened his canopy as Gates and a few MP's surrounded the plane. Getting out, the pilot reached in and pulled a suitcase sized box out of his cockpit and climbed down. Seeing the men standing around, he called, "General Gates?"

"Who are you and tell me why you should NOT be thrown in the brig right now!" Gates roared.

The pilot saluted him. "Sir, I see a representative from the Nicaraguan army is here. Good, he needs to see this too. I have orders and instructions from General Conner. "

Frustrated and angered by the recent events, General Gates snapped, "In my office, now!"

"General, I need your answer," Colonel Basurto insisted.

"Sir?" the pilot asked the Colonel, "With all due respect Sir, you need to see this."

Going back inside, the pilot set the case on top of the General's desk and opened it to show the top was a monitor screen. He pulled up an antenna then handed an envelope to Colonel Basurto. "Sir, this is the latest satellite and intel report on all Sky Net activity we have discovered in and around your country. There are supplies coming, weapons and ammunition that will be more effective than what you are currently using. General Connor requests you send as many men as you can to this base to be trained on it's use. Time is critical Sir."

"Pilot, you can't just hand over vital information to a foreign power," General Gates stated.

"General Connor's orders, sir. To quote him, 'I don't give a damn about politics when the survival of the human race is at stake.' General Connor is waiting to speak to you and a high ranking member of the Nicaraguan military as soon as possible. This transceiver is the only secure communications we have that Sky Net cannot break the code on."

"Who is this General Connor?" Colonel Basurto asked.

"So far, the only commander who has been able to defeat Sky Net every time it has attacked him," the pilot stated. "I would recommend you listen to him, Sir."

Colonel Basurto did not walk out and order an attack on this base because of one statement. This Connor was out to save people, no matter who they were. He had also brought intel the Americans would never normally give up freely. "Very well, get General Conner on."

.

John was working at his desk, writing out orders when his door opened and his secretary poked her head in.

"General, we have General Gates on the secure line."

"Thank you," he replied and opened up his link to the transceiver he'd had sent to that base. The monitor showed General Gates and another man in a Nicaraguan officer's uniform. "General Gates, I am General Connor. You still hold the base?"

"We do, but we are having difficulties. Besides your reckless pilot dropping down on top of me, Colonel Basurto here has demanded our surrender."

"Why is that, Colonel?" John asked.

Colonel Basurto restated his distrust and insistence the base was holding weapons back from him. John listened and nodded. "I understand. Colonel, would you consider it acceptable if I handed control of that base over to the Nicaraguan army?"

"That is out of the question!" Gates roared. "I don't know who you are, but I refuse to hand over US military equipment, let alone personnel to anyone!"

"General Gates, who is your second in command?" John asked.

"The surviving second in command is now Major Lambert."

"Go get him, you are relieved of command, General," John stated heavily.

"You can't do that!"

"I just did," John snapped back. "Colonel, if General Gates will not relinquish command, then put him in the stockade and inform Major Lambert he is the new base commander. I want to speak to him right away so we can make things clear and get started bringing you weapons."

"Yes, General Connor," Colonel Basurto said firmly.

"Call me back the moment you are ready for a staff meeting. Every moment we delay, Sky Net is killing people. Time is of the essence," John stated. He then dimmed the monitor and and went back to work while he waited.

.

Cameron took a close look at what was needed for the Central American operation. Air cover was going to be the big item, as long as H/K's ruled the skies, Sky Net was getting a stronger and stronger foothold in those countries. An A-747 had severely crippled the Chinese aircraft carrier that had brought the H/K's over, but with that ship now beached, she was sure it was being consumed to make fighting vehicles, it wasn't going back for any more.

The latest drones were piloted from the A-747's or a school bus sized land vehicle, or humvee sized vehicles for a single drone pilot. Sending troops and equipment by ship was asking for a Sky Net sub or Kraken to sink them. Everything would have to be flown in. They had 12 serviceable cargo planes, 5 C-141's, a pair of old C-130's, 4 C-5's and a C-17. The C-130's were much slower propeller driven craft, so that meant only 10 cargo planes were available for the trip.

Seeing how the drone pilots could fly the drones there as escorts, that meant all the ground weapons an ammo had to be packed In a tight of space as possible. Mini-stugs were the best compact vehicle, with the most tightly packed ammunition. Doing the figures she concluded they could send 20 mini-stugs for dual human operators, six truck based lasers and enough TOW missiles and ammunition to keep the fight going on the ground. She also figured a pair of A-747's would be needed. Cameron issued the orders to get everything together.

Walking into John's office, Cameron gave him the list and said, "This is all we can send. From the numbers of Sky Net machines, as long as we can remove the H/K's from the skies quickly, the battle should draw down with attrition and stop Sky Net's advance."

John winced. "I don't want it the advance stopped, we have to eliminate it completely."

"Then Allison and I must go," Cameron stated.

John gapped at her. "Why you?"

"I can operate the mini Stugs and drones more efficiently. Allison has the ability to take on many Sky Net units as well," Cameron explained. "I don't like the idea, but you are correct John, we need to eliminate the Sky Net forces completely. The amount of material we can send will not do that. If we send substantially more, then we will be vulnerable here."

John stared at her. "But, Cam, to send Allison..." he said weakly.

"That is the fastest way to remove the threat. We both know this is not the only attack Sky Net has planned," Cameron stated.

John let out a huff. "I'm sure you're right. Still, to send our little girl into a fight seems wrong."

"Allison can handle anything Sky Net has. She is the only one who can. John, this is not my first choice, it is the most logical one." Softer, Cameron said, "John, you know I will keep a close eye on her."

The transceiver beeped. John eyed it and motioned Cameron over to bring a chair over to his side. "If Allison wants to go, then we'll do it. If she doesn't, we're not going to force her. The Nicaraguan base is on line, come over here so they can see you."

.

John opened the line up. On his monitor, Colonel Basurto was there with an American Major John figured was Lambert, and another Nicaraguan officer. To get this meeting started off right, John introduced himself and got to the heart of the matter.

"Gentlemen, I am General John Connor, currently in charge of all west coast American forces. We have a problem here that concerns us all. This enemy we face, Sky Net, does not want to rule anyone, it wants to eradicate humanity. It can and will kill every person on the face of the Earth if it is not stopped. If we work together, we can stop Sky Net, but it will not happen if we don't put aside any differences we have and fight side by side. Colonel Basurto, may I ask your area of responsibility?"

"I hold the responsibility of the defense of Managua, General, but I can speak for General Ortega. The General feels all forces in our country must be united under one command," Basurto stated.

"As do I," John agreed. "Colonel, with me here is my wife, General Cameron Connor. She will be coming to join your forces with the intent to remove Sky Net from the air and prevent any reinforcement of them. She will be bringing equipment with her that will need operators, and other equipment she will be operating herself. She will need free rein to attack Sky Net when and how she sees fit. Is that agreeable to you?"

Colonel Basurto paused for a moment, then nodded. "It is, Sir, as long as she will obey commands to give specific support where we need it."

"Colonel," Cameron said, "I have had much experience fighting Sky Net. I will go by your orders when they are the best course of action. If you give an order that either makes no tactical sense, or may endanger our forces or your own, or possibly be dangerous to civilians, do not expect it to be followed."

Colonel Basurto smiled and let a chuckle escape his lips. "If I give such an order, you are welcome to inform me of my mistake. When is this help arriving, General?"

"The planes are being prepared now," Cameron said. "I recommend not using a military airport, Sky Net will be watching for you forces to be receiving help. What I saw of the battle lines this morning, I expect Sky Net to be in the outskirts of Managua no later than two days, the earliest tomorrow afternoon. An air attack force to take control of the air will be there by noon tomorrow. The transports will arrive very soon after. You need to keep the civilian air field in the south of the city open and prepare for the dropping off of equipment and supplies."

"One thing, Colonel," John added. "The ground equipment we are sending will be yours, Sky Net is not going away. Once we defeat Sky Net there, all our personnel return here except for a few to maintain contact and assist in training. In return for this I will be calling for your help should Sky Net attack any other Central American country. We, all of humanity, must be in this fight together."

Colonel Basurto nodded slowly. "How many men should we have ready for this new equipment you are sending?"

"Five thousand," Cameron stated. "That includes operators, mechanics, clerical and support troops. one hundred will be remote vehicle operators, I would suggest younger men who are good at video games. These are remotely operated machines."

Colonel Basurto raised an eyebrow. "So few? We have lost four times that many men, and the best we've done is stall this Sky Net's advance."

John cracked a grin and said, "You're going to like our new toys. We've got the latest and greatest, these are not second hand. Let me show you some photos and specs."

John send a picture of each machine as he explained.

"The mini-Stug, seventy kilometers an hour top speed, main gun is a 130 MM rail gun capable of a fifty mile range with a full charge of the magnetically driven gun. This shell will obliterate whatever it hits, and most likely, whatever is behind the target also. Secondary arms is a sixty caliber rail assisted machine gun, alternating armor piercing and phosphorous rounds, the armored dome is effectively 90 MM thick, it takes two human remote operators or if platooned up, one AI to operate."

"The attack drone, short takeoff, max sped 1200 KPH, best maneuverability of any aircraft, it has one main laser with a range of one hundred fifty kilometers, and can carry six missiles of various types, including our semi-intelligent missiles that seeks and homes in on targets as well as actively avoids counter fire and ignores countermeasures. It takes one human operator per unit, or one AI per squadron to operate."

"The truck mounted rail gun, 130 MM, the same gun that is on the mini-Stugs but with a range of two hundred kilometers with coordinated precise ranging. Capable of firing one round per second. It is local or remotely operated"

"The semi-intelligent missile, range five hundred kilometers. Give it a picture of what you want destroyed, point it in the general direction and let it go. It will find it's target. This baby is great for over the horizon shots at approaching H/K's."

"The Humvee mounted rail assisted machine gun. Sixty caliber, 340 rounds per minute, it will punch through three inches, or 75MM, of steel plate and chew any concrete structure down to nothing."

John took the last picture down and asked, "So, Colonel, do you think you might be able to use these weapons?"

Colonel Basurto asked, "These things are real?"

"And on their way to you, so long you are willing to work with us in an alliance," John said firmly.

"As long as you are fighting to protect the people, we are with you," Colonel Basurto stated.

.

After dinner, the question her Dad asked Allison was a no-brainer. They were fairly secure here, and her mother was going to go battle Sky Net. "Sure I'll go! I don't want Mommy down there in danger all by herself," Allison stated.

"You might not be back in time for your birthday," Cameron cautioned her daughter.

"That's OK, this is more important," Allison said.

"Hey Ally?" Byron asked hesitantly. "I know you're real good at whacking Sky Net things, but it's a war going on down there. I don't want you getting hurt."

Allison shrugged and said, "I'll be OK. Someone has to watch out for Mommy." She the perked up as if remembering something, "Oh yeah, I have my assignments to do, and give my theory about the battle of Kursk. Mommy, when are we leaving?"

"We are leaving tomorrow night late to be there first thing Friday morning."

Allison got up and said, "I have to go get my work done. Byron, could you give my Kursk theory to the class for me?"

"Sure Ally."

"Thank you. I better go get my schoolwork done. Night everyone," Allison said, then made the rounds, giving a hug and kiss to Sarah, John, Cameron, then without thinking about it, Byron. Byron blushed red with a grin on his face as Allison went to her room.

.

The next day at school, Allison turned in her first assignments and told Gloria where she was going.

Gloria's eyes widened. "Allison, you're going off to war?" she asked with a shocked expression.

"Only for a little while," Allison said meekly. "Mommy said she expects us to be gone about two or three weeks. A month, tops."

"But, you're just a child!" Gloria cried.

"I know. I'm the only one who can help Mommy," Allison replied. "If I don't go, then a lot more people are going to die and Mommy might get hurt too! I know I'll be missing some school, but I'll make it up, and Byron said he'll give my Kursk talk on Friday for me."

"While you are in the jungles of Central America, fighting Sky Net," Gloria stated, staring at her.

Allison nodded. With a frown she said, "I'd take school work with me, but I don't really think I'll have much time to do it."

"When are you leaving?"

"Later today. I wish I could finish the week, but Mommy says we have to get down there as soon as we can," Allison explained.

Gloria shook her head sadly. She the got up and went around the desk to hug Allison. "You be careful, dear. We all want you to come back to us."

Hearing them, Becky also got up and went to the front to hug Allison. To Gloria, she said, "If anyone can figure out how to beat Sky Net down there, it's Allison! You go give them hell, girl!" she announced.

"Becky!" Gloria admonished.

Becky cast her a crooked grin and said "Well Dan isn't here to be crude, so someone has to do it."

.

The class didn't get a lot of work done before lunch, attention was shifted to Allison and the fact she was leaving to go fight those machines. Allison did get everyone to agree not to tell anyone else, because her parents said it had to remain a secret anyone was going at all. Everyone insisted they help Allison 'be sure' she was ready to go, so after lunch, they all went out on the football field. Allison was mid field, Byron and Becky stood at one end, Jerome, Trudy and Arnie stood at other end. They threw small rocks in the air, Allison in the middle had to keep watch and hit the rocks. It was good mind Hand practice, Allison had to be sharp and pay attention to both sides at once. Not matter how fast they threw rocks in the air, Allison hit each one, blasting it into dust.

After the mind Hand target practice, Byron had Allison race around the cross-country course, Becky kept the time. The first time Allison flew around the mile and a half course, using trees and other objects to help propel herself around only touching the ground now and then, she took just over one minute. The second time around, she only took 35 seconds. Taking a rest and pumping herself up try her best, Allison raced around a third time to come in 26 seconds after she left.

"Yay, Allison!" Byron and Becky cried as they looked at the stop watch. Gloria and the rest of the class clapped at her accomplishment. Arnie looked stunned.

Allison blushed and pointed back at the course. "I think I knocked a tree down my last time around. We better not do any more."

.

With the class satisfied Allison was ready to take on Sky Net, Gloria dismissed Allison and Byron early so Byron could take Allison down to buy her bug repellent, sun glasses, a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off her, and mosquito netting to be sure she didn't get bitten.

Knowing she wouldn't see Byron for a while, Allison didn't mind shopping and walking home with him. He carried her bags and opened doors for her. She thought it was sweet. Due to the lack of imports, prices were higher in stores for the items they did have. All the things made in China , Taiwan and other far eastern Countries (which was most of what was sold) were becoming scarce. Allison knew her Father was working hard to get things produced here again, but nothing was reaching the shelves yet. Byron did find bug repellent, and a wide brimmed hat, but no sunglasses or any netting to use to keep the mosquitoes off her.

On the walk back home, Byron made a point of holding Allison's hand. Sheepishly, he said, "Sorry I couldn't get everything for you, Ally."

"It's all right, you tried your best. The stores just done have much," Allison replied.

They walked along a bit farther. Byron cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Ally? You scared to go?"

"No, I just don't like being away," she mussed.

"I'm scared something will happen and you won't come back," he admitted.

"I'll come back," Allison assured him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

.

That night, Byron hung by Allison, helping her get packed. Allison didn't really care for the green camo shirt and pants Gramma Sarah put her in, nor the combat boots, but she knew this was what soldiers wore. Byron and Allison drove their beat up car with no engine to the airfield with John, Cameron and Sarah in the back seat. With no headlights, Sarah shown a flashlight out the front so Byron could see where he was going. Parking by the large quonset hut that hid the entrance to the underground entrance to the tunnels, They all got out. John led them to the briefing station where the latest developments in Nicaragua were being shown on a large map. The Captain there explained the situation to John and Cameron.

"In the southern area, here at the Nicaraguan,Costa Rica border, LaCruz, Upala, and Los Chiles in Costa Rica have all be overrun, in Nicaragua, Rivas, Jinotepe, Granada and Masaya have all been taken over. The populations in all these places have been wiped out, or driven west in the south, or up towards Managua in the north. To the North, Chinandega in Nicaragua, and Choluteca in Honduras have been gassed and bombed heavily, and Sky Net has forces in both cities, and in a large semi-circle in this whole coastal area. In both places, Sky Net is not moving fast, but it appears it is making sure the areas are devoid of humans before they move on. Honduran forces have pulled back, concerning themselves with getting people out of the area. Costa Rica has no forces left, and Nicaragua have the bulk of their forces near Managua desperately trying to hold back Sky Net. If Sky Net makes it south past Leon, they will be trapped between lago de Nicaragua, this huge lake, and the coast. They will be completely wiped out."

"So if Managua falls, there will be no more resistance against Sky Net, in the entire area" John concluded.

"Nothing substantial, no."

John Looked at Cameron. "First priority is to clear the skies and get as may people out to the north east around Lake Nicaragua, or across it as fast as possible. Once Sly Net finds out we're there, I'm sure they will pick up the pace and close the trap."

Cameron studied the map and pointed to the river connecting the two parts of Lake Nicaragua. "Here. I am sure Sky Net has already guarded this route against escape. We'll need to open it up and keep it open. Up here on this peninsula sticking out into the lake is another viable escape route by boat if we can get rid of the H/K's. Around the north end of the lake is too dangerous, Sky Net will be expecting it, and have ground units waiting."

"Do what you think is best," John told her.

"Are the planes ready to go?" Cameron asked.

"One hour," an air force Major said. "Ten transports, two A-747's, thirty long range drones, twenty V-22 Osprey VTOL troop transports. A screening force of Raptors and F-35's will escort you down to Honduras at high altitude. They will try to get the H/K's attention and distract them while your force flies in low, under fifteen hundred feet. We are hoping they will see the drones as assisting the fighters, and be happy to engage them while your transports slip past and drop their loads. The A-747's and their drones will stay to cover the transports, and return with the heavy lifters. Once they are well on their way north, the drones will be under your command, General," he told Cameron.

"The drones will be under my command all the way in case I need to modify the plan," Cameron stated.

"Of course, General."

"Cam, you and Allison will be in the first Osprey to land. After you're down, the heavy transports will start dropping their loads in combat drops," John said. To Allison, he asked, "Those large skids will be coming in fast, sure you can get them stopped and out of the way?"

"I will, Dad," Allison said firmly.

John hugged her and Cameron. "Good luck, and come back safe," he said. He kissed Cameron and gave Allison a kiss on her forehead.

"Bye, Ally," Byron said with a sniffle and hugged Allison tight.

"Let's go," Cameron stated, and led Allison out to the air field.

.

Allison had never seen so many planes! There were a line of big ones and small ones, and even planes that had the engines on their wing tips pointed up at the sky. Cameron led her over to one of these planes. They entered the plane through the rear ramp and took their seats. Already on the plane were officers and marines. The marines held machine guns, a few had missile launchers. The rear ramp closed.

A short while later, the engines started up. The pilot called back that the force was ready to depart.

"Commence the operation," Cameron called up to him.

Watching out the window, Allison saw the big jets lumber into the air one after the other. Once the last one was in the air, a long line of drones took off in pairs. Only after they all left, did their plane and the ones like it pick straight up off the ground. As they rose the engines slowly tilted forward to give them speed. The takeoff show was great. Once they were up in the air, a drone settled down far off to their side and stayed there. Allison drifted off to sleep to the monotonous tone of the engines.


	18. Chapter 18

CH 18 Pequeno rosado la diablo ( The little pink devil)

Colonel Basurto stood on one of their remaining armored vehicles just off the airport runway at the south end of Managua. Gripping his binoculars tight, he cursed the machines coming at them. Flowing past were the refugees who could run, women and older children, and a few men. In the distance he could see air machines hovering over the last defensive positions outside the city he'd been able to put up, and systematically taking them out. Behind him was the smoking remains of their airport.

The control tower was collapsed and burning as were the rest of the buildings and the planes that had been caught on the ground. The Sky Net machines had come last night to destroy everything but the runways.

"Colonel!" a man shouted from the ground beside the armored personnel carrier in a pained voice. "Our troops on Highway 1 and around the bridge at the lake have been wiped out! Those devil machines are killing civilians who are trying to flee!"

"Damn!" Basturo spat. "Guide everyone to flee north, get anyone with a gun up here to this line, inform General Ortega we MUST evacuate the city!"

"Yes Sir!"

"Colonel!" A yell came from behind. He turned to see a man in a commandeered pickup truck.

"We have no more big guns! The northern forces have been severely beaten, and are retreating this way. Colonel Hernandez is dead, there has been no word from our Eastern forces, and those machine planes are dropping bombs on the city! It looks like poison gas."

Colonel Basurto looked back towards the city. White clouds were billowing up from ground level. A few more of the triangular shapes sped through the air overhead to drop more bombs. A couple surviving anti-aircraft batteries opened upon them. One machine trailed smoke, but kept on flying. General Connor had been right. These machines were exterminating his people! The few thousand soldiers he had left were not going to make a difference with only their small arms, and by blocking the way around the lake to the north and closing off the eastern highway 1 bridge, there was no escape.

"Colonel, there is no reply from command!" the radio operator said from beside their armored vehicle.

"Get the evacuation moving north, NOW!" Basturo barked.

"Yes Sir!"

Basturo jumped down and went over to the lieutenant beside his truck. "Listen closely. We have no reserves, and we will be over run here soon. Get every man you can find and head north. If we're going to save ANYONE, we have to keep these attackers away from the north end of the lake. Commandeer every vehicle you can find to help. We MUST get as many people away as possible. GO!"

"They're coming!" a frantic voice cried out.

"Go!" Basturo barked again, pushing the man back to his truck.

Basturo then turned to his troops and saw the machine planes coming at them and rising higher in the sky. The road and fields were dotted with small tank like and six legged insect like machines coming towards them. In his loudest voice, he yelled, "There is no place to run to, we must hold this line! Those machines will kill everyone if we don't stop them. Men, fight to your last breath! OPEN FIRE!"

The 20MM gun on the armored carrier opened up as did the machine guns along the line. Still half a kilometer away, the attacking air machines and ground machines responded in kind. Basturo dove to the ground as bullets pinged off the carrier. The carrier then exploded. Something his his leg hard enough to throw him farther away. Dirt from their entrenchments erupted throwing chunks of men and weapons into the air.

Basturo tried to get up. His leg would not hold him. Looking down he saw he was bleeding badly. Around him, the few men still able to, including a couple Americans, shot back at the oncoming enemy. "God, give us a miracle, I beg you!" he cried.

Above them, fireballs lit the sky. Basturo looked up to see missile coming in and exploding the Machine air craft. Like a fiery wave, the missile cleared the attackers from the sky. several missiles hit the ground, destroying the small tanks coming a them. From behind him, drone planes appeared to shoot more missiles into the attackers, then pull up and away to the west.

Hearing the roar of larger planes, he turned to see a heavy transport fly low over the runway, all but touching the ground. The back opened, a parachute came out the back and pulled a long skid out of the plane. The large transport tipped up and banked away. Behind it, another was coming in as the cargo skidded down the runway. More drones flew close to the transports, keeping the machines away. Basturo noticed one small plane had landed. This one had engines on the wings, tilted vertically. The engines were still turned as soldiers ran out the back.

One thing looked very odd. A few hundred meters away, in the middle of this battle of machines and men, a little girl with pink hair raced at the runway with incredible speed. All but flying to the skidding crate the first plane had dropped, she ran up beside it as the huge box turned to skid off the runway. The girl ran onto the runway and stood waiting as the next transport came charging at her and dropped it's load that skidded along, straight for her. This long crate skidded off the runway to stop right next to the first one.

"_Dar ellos el infierno_!" one of his men screamed, and righted a .50 cal machine gun to keep firing it at the oncoming machines.

Basturo noted this, wanting to go help the man as his vision faded and he passed out.

.

Cameron sat in the landed Osprey controlling the drones overhead. Sky Net had not planned on encountering any serious resistance, for only one H/K had a laser and only a few mini-Stugs had rail guns, the rest were armed with machine guns. Good against a small, unprepared army, but not so good against her drones and Mini-Stugs. As she removed the H/K's and the few mini-stugs in the area, Allison caught the incoming crates and tore the ends off. The Mini-Stug drivers then drove their machines out of the crates and into the battle. Instead of meeting men with rifles and automatic weapons, the oncoming Sky Net forces began meeting her Mini-Stugs.

Right away, the Connor Mini-Stugs opened up on the Sky Net forces with rail guns and the armor piercing 60. cal rounds from their machine guns. The six legged walkers were shredded one after another, the remaining Sky Net mini-Stugs took more of a pounding, but still came apart when the shot from a rail gun blasted through them. The battle that looked so dim a moment ago turned around as more Connor Mini-Stugs rolled out and joined the fight.

.

Allison caught the last cargo crate that skidded down the runway towards her. Pulling it over to the side, she got it stopped and ripped the end off. "Mom, they're all down," she announced in her headset.

"Thank you, Allison. Go east along the road, there is a bridge across the water. Sky Net has it, you must destroy the Sky Net forces there by yourself. We have nothing to help you at the moment. If you think it's too much for you, inform me and come back," Cameron told her.

"I'm on it, Mom," Allison replied, and raced off for the road.

The second they had come in, Allison had seen the people here were in a desperate situation. She understood her mother had to use everything they had just to get the supplies on the ground. Seeing all the bodies carpeting the ground, Allison knew she had to do her best to save as many as possible.

Terrified people ran at her as Allison ran down the road. Many were bloodied. Upon seeing her, some stopped and screamed, other fled to the sides. Allison leaped up and flew over them. Flying over those that fled and ruined, burning vehicles, Allison saw groups of women and children hiding behind anything they could. She then saw a six legged machine walking down the road toward her. It stopped to aim at a woman beside the road. Allison flew down and slashed the machine in half. Seeing others beyond it she grabbed the halves and flung them at the other machines.

At first, it didn't seem like the machines paid her any attention, they kept focused on a couple men shooting at them. Right, the machines couldn't see how she was destroying them, they thought it was those brave men. To get those machines off those men, Allison dropped down and picked up a sub machine gun out of a dead man's hand. She sprayed a few bullets at a mini-stug before she punched it into the ground. She shot another walker, then sent a mind Hand down to smash it into the ground.

Her tactic worked. She now had the undivided attention of at least a dozen machines. They all stopped firing at people, and began shooting at her. Her Mind shields were battered with bullets, knocking her away from the road and into a heavily wooded area. Recovering from the onslaught, Allison slung herself through the trees as fast as she could, coming around behind three walkers that were searching for her.

BAM

BAM

BAM

She punched these into the ground, then slung herself back to the road to split a mini-Stug in half. She flung herself away from the road to smash another pair of Spider-looking machines, then back to the road to crunch another mini-Stug into the ground.

More bullets came from a pair of walkers on the bridge. Allison landed on the road and walked towards them as she deflected the bullets they were shooting at her. To her right was an overturned truck. Hiding pressed into the wreck was what looked like a teenage boy. He crouched frozen in place, wide eyed as he watched her. Seeing the gun beside him, Allison reached over with a mind Hand and drew it to herself.

She pulled the trigger. Nothing.

Sending the gun back over to the boy, she asked in Spanish, "Load it. please?"

Eyes fixed on her as the constant assault of rounds pinged off her mind shields, the boy did so.

"Gracias," Allison said with a smile, then charged the pair of machines on the bridge. In mind Hand range, she opened up on the machines with the gun as she chopped them in two with her Mind Hands, knocking the wrecks into the water.

For a moment, Allison stood on the bridge alone. With the lack of shooting, everything was dead quiet. She looked for any other machines and didn't find any. Listening closely, she did hear a few sounds. Panting breaths.

The boy peeked out from behind the truck. From under the bridge a man cautiously poked his head out to eye her, and his eyes grew wide. There were no clanks, motor whines or other machine noises close by. All the sounds of battle were drifting over from the city..

"That's all?" she asked no one as she looked around. Mentally counting the machines she'd destroyed, she keyed her headset. "Mom? I'm on the bridge. I got fourteen machines. There are no more around. Either they have moved on or they fled."

"Very good, Allison. Stay there, keep that bridge open. If people come, tell them to go east."

"OK, Mom," she replied. Motioning to the man, Allison called to him, "I killed the machines. Go across the bridge, get out of here."

The man jumped up and ran back down the road. The boy joined him.

"Hey! That's the wrong way!" Allison cried. She wanted to go tell them, but her mother had told her to keep the bridge open. Some people just didn't listen.

Allison kept her post. For a while she stood, then getting bored, she sat down and listened. Slowly, the birds returned to the area and began their calls again. Overhead, a drone would fly by. She saw a group of people coming towards the bridge. Upon seeing her, they stopped.

A vehicle came from the east end of the bridge. It was an olive drab pickup with a manned machine gun in the back. The passenger also had a gun. Allison stood up as they drove across the bridge, slowing to a stop by her.

The driver eyed her and asked, "Who are you? Army volunteer?"

"Yes. Mom told me to keep this bridge clear so people can get across, but they aren't crossing, they're only standing over there. Could you go tell them it's OK now? I killed all the machines," Allison explained.

"Our army is so desperate they made a little _muchacha_ like you hold a bridge?" he asked in disbelief.

Allison frowned at him. "I'm just doing what mom said to do, keeping the Sky Net machines away from here," she stated.

"Where is your mother, child?"

"Back at the airport, fighting Sky Net there. You guys really need our help," Allison said in a serious tone.

The boy who'd been hiding behind the truck came running up to them. Seeing him, Allison held the gun out to him. "This is yours, thank you for letting me borrow it," she said and offered him a smile.

The boy smiled back in a grimace and hesitantly took the gun. He then looked at the man and pointed to Allison. "Pequeno rosado la diablo," he said.

The man eyed the boy. "What do you mean, little pink devil?" he asked.

The boy then told him about them getting wiped out by machines and Allison arriving to destroy them. "... And their bullets didn't even touch her! She walked towards them through the gunfire and destroyed them like it was nothing! Look at the horns, she has to be a devil!" the boy said firmly.

"I'm not a devil, I'm just different." Allison retorted. "Anyway, Mom said whoever is not fighting needs to go east until we can get rid of the Sky Net machines."

"Your mama holds a rank?" the man in the truck asked.

Allison nodded. "General Cameron Connor," she said proudly.

"Well, brave muchacha, you stay here like your mother says, and call if you need help. We'll send people across the bridge." the man said. To the boy he jerked his thumb at the back and said, "Get on."

.

Cameron noticed putting Allison at the bridge was like putting a drop of soap on water. The remaining Sky Net forces in the area all headed west for the coast to regroup. Her drones got some of the fleeing forces, the mini-Stugs got some others and continued the chase. Sending some drones south, Cameron found the beached ship and the makeshift factories by it. She lost three drones to anti-aircraft fire, but got the coordinates. Using the mountable 130MM rail guns coming out of the crates, she targeted the location and had the gunners begin pounding the area.

Eager for payback, Nicaraguans both military and civilian, men and women, began training on the guns as they shot at their targets. By the time the sun was touching the horizon, each gun had the original crew and a full training crew, complete with ammunition handlers. The Mini-Stugs, having chased down the Sky Net forces to the south and destroying them, also had training crews learning how to drive as they headed north to take on the Sky Net forces there.

Unfortunately, the casualties were enormous. Thousands wounded, and thens of thousands dead. Entire populations in towns south of Managua were obliterated. As help came in from the east, much of it was directed towards medical efforts and distributing what supplies there were. Cameron put out a search for the highest ranking soldier in the army. It turned out to be Colonel Basturo, who was currently in surgery.

Cameron recalled Allison from the bridge and got to work rebuilding the Nicaraguan military hierarchy. General Ortega, as well as his command staff were victims of the gas attacks in the city, as were thousands of other people. There were enough volunteers to train on all the equipment they had brought, and she found a Major to command the mini-Stug forces once they were trained. Another she gave command to the new air force of 22 surviving drones. She gave them responsibilities, stressing their positions may change when 'General' Basturo was capable of taking command himself.

.

Allison slept in the Osprey they had landed in as Cameron kept up night attacks on the northern Sky Net forces. She set a pattern of two drones landing to get refueled and rearmed, and as soon as they were back in action, she brought another pair back to get them serviced and back in the air. By morning, the southern Sky Net forces were all but finished off, and the northern forces had contracted their area of control back to the peninsula where they had first landed.

Waking up, Allison got herself a MRE dusted with her nutrients and ate watching her mother control the drones.

"They almost gone, Mom?" she asked between mouthfuls.

"Greatly reduced," Cameron replied in a flat tone. "There is still a danger, so do not let your guard down."

"I won't," Allison assured her. Allison caught a waft of odor coming off herself. She sniffed her armpit and wrinkled up her nose. She'd been sweating all day yesterday in the heat, and it was already hot this morning. "I stink," she said unhappily.

"Find a place to clean up, and stay on the radio," Cameron replied tonelessly.

Finishing her MRE, Allison put the empty bag in the trash and walked out to look for a bathroom. All she could see were military vehicles, camps, and a couple white medical tents. The air stunk with the smell of dead bodies.

"This is terrible," she grumbled and headed for the lake.

.

Many people had the same idea as her. The shoreline was filled with people in various stages of washing out their clothes and bathing. Many were soldiers, some were civilians. As Allison approached, she noted women were bathing with the mass of men and no one seemed to care. She winced at this, but it was either share or stink.

Others noticed her approaching, and cleared a wide path for her. Whispers of 'la diablo' came to her from people eyeing her warily. Keeping her eyes straight ahead and to the ground, she ignored the insults. Getting to the shoreline, she sat down and took her boots and socks off, then paused at unbuttoning her shirt. Even though everyone else was doing it, she felt really strange about undressing in front of all these people.

Footsteps came close, Allison looked up to see a woman who looked a lot like Gramma Sarah, but younger, come up to her. The woman wore a camo shirt and jeans.

"Shy?" the woman asked.

Allison nodded.

The woman took her shoes and socks off and walked into the water fully dressed. "Follow me," she said.

Allison did. They walked in far enough that Allison was neck deep in the shallow waves. The woman took her jeans off and said, "Pants first." as she stood between Allison and the shore.

Allison took her pants off, then her undies and dipped and scrubbed them in her hands like the woman showed her, then put them back on. Next they did their shirts. Redressed, the woman led her back to the shore.

"Your clothes will dry and you will be cooler," the woman explained. She then washed her socks at the shoreline.

"Thank you," Allison said as she washed her socks, taking the same squatting pose beside the woman.

"If you get hot, come back and wash again. No man likes a smelly woman," the woman said with a grin.

Allison returned a grin. She also noted people were staying clear of them. "Why isn't anyone coming near us?" she asked.

"Word has spread about you. You are _pequeno rosado la diablo_, the destroyer. People are afraid of what you can do. Give them time to see you will not destroy them and they will accept you," she said.

"I came to get rid of Sky Net's machines, not to hurt anyone," Allison told her.

The woman offered her a tiny smile and said, "I see that. Everyone is afraid now. Once the fear lessens, they will see you for who you are, not what you are."

"What I am?" Allison knew she was different, but she'd never thought of herself as THAT different. She wasn't used to people acting like this towards her.

"Pequeno rosado la diablo, that is you," the woman stated and stood up. "Please keep doing what you did yesterday. Our people need hope."

"I will," Allison said firmly. She spun-dried her socks by spinning them over her head. Satisfied they were dry enough, she put her socks and shoes back on.

Alison walked back to the airfield, trying not to notice the people staring at her, or the ones who were now following her.

.

Colonel Basturo came wake aching and lying on a cot in a tent. His left leg was bandaged as was his chest. On each side of him were more wounded men, with a long line of more wounded on the other side. Nurses cycled between patients. Upon seeing him awake, a nurse called, "Doctor, General Basturo is awake!" The doctor then called on an orderly to go inform people.

General Basturo? He wondered. "Nurse!" he called with his parched throat. "Please tell me, what happened?"

Coming over to him, the nurse smiled and said, "The Americans came and drove away the machines. Pequeno rosado la diablo cleared highway 1 and opened the bridge east by herself. General Connor is coming to give you the details."

Basturo frowned at her. "A devil? I take it this woman is experienced in fighting the Sky Net machines."

"No, General, she really is a devil. She has horns and she flies!" the nurse stated. "She looks like a school girl, but she is very powerful."

"Why are you calling me general?" Basturo asked.

The nurse's face dropped. "Sir, General Ortega and his staff were killed, as were so very many. You are the most experienced officer we have left. You are General now."

Basturo gapped at her. "General Ortega is ... dead," he said, pausing because he couldn't quite believe it.

"Yes, Sir. You are now our leader."

"You are not mistaken?"

"No, his body is prepared for burial, and being guarded. It was the gas, Sir. So many have died," she said and choked out a sob. "If it wasn't for the arrival of the Americans and little pink devil, we all would have perished."

"I want to see this devil," he said, not believing it was real.

"I will relay your request, General. Is there anything you need?"

"I just need to know what s gong on," he said firmly.

.

Cameron was satisfied the Sky Net forces were not going anywhere. All that remained were burrowed in to receive the ground attack that usually came after an air bombardment. Since they didn't have much to attack with yet, she redirected the 130 MM gun fire to the peninsula to keep them in place, and brought the drones back to cap the city and get serviced. The A-747's had returned home, the only aircraft they had now, besides the drones, were the Ospreys.

Hearing Basturo was conscious and wanted intel, Cameron gathered the latest reports and Allison, They walked to the heavily guarded medical tent. There, she found Basturo sitting up.

"General Basturo, I am General Cameron Connor. This is my daughter, Allison," Cameron announced.

The wounded man beside Basturo smiled and said, "She's here! The little pink devil is here!"

Not knowing what else to do, Allison waved to him.

Cameron sat in the edge of Basturo's bed and handed him the stack of reports as she said "Due to the emergency situation, I have assigned surviving officers to various corps of your army, including your new air force. Each combat unit has a training crew of your army with the actual unit crew. That includes the support units as well. You also now have two hundred thirty women in your army, and more ready to begin training to fight."

"Women should not be fighting," Basturo said automatically.

Cameron cast him a cold look and stated, "You will not have enough forces otherwise, and it was women, as well as my daughter, who drove Sky Net away from Managua and let people escape."

"The little pink devil," Basturo said as he eyed Allison.

"I'm not a devil, people just gave me that name," Allison countered, not happy with her nickname.

Basturo chuckled, then winced from the pain in his back. "You look the part of a devil. Being so small, you really cleared the road and the bridge?"

Allison shrugged and said, "There was only fourteen of them. And my size doesn't matter."

"General," Cameron said firmly to get back on topic. "I have kept the 130MM guns here, they are in range of any troubled area. So far, I have maintained control of the drones until your trainees are skilled enough to operate them themselves. I also kept five Mini-Stugs to the south here, in case Sky Net tries to attack again. The bulk of your army is moving north as they train to get rid of the Sky Net presence up here on the peninsula." Cameron handed Basturo a list of forces and who was commanding them. "Here are the battalions I divided them into, and the men leading each. Once they reach their objective, long range visual contact with sky net units, I will order the pre-attack bombardment to begin from our guns, mini-Stugs and from the air. Myself and Allison will be joining the attack force."

Basturo took on Cameron's slim figure and said, "You should be dancing, not fighting. And your daughter should not be put in harm's way."

The man beside Basturo asked, "Harm's way, General? You have not seen what The little pink Devil can do! I pity the ones who oppose her."

Basturo eyed the man. "What division are you in, solider?" he asked.

"The tenth. We tried to keep the machines from getting to the bridge. They wiped us out! We tried, but could not stop them. The little pink devil came and wiped them all out. They could not shoot her no matter how hard they tried. She walked and flew right into them, and destroyed them as easy as stepping on _cucarachas. _The wind she brought up crushed them completely! I do not know if this power comes from God or the Devil, but I do know those of us left alive are grateful she is here."

Basturo stared at Allison, then turned his gaze to her mother, General Connor. If the daughter was that powerful, what was the mother capable of?

"We are different," Cameron stated. "Now General, here are the supplies available, the remains of what you had, and those we brought with us," she said, and handed him another list.

"God has sent us a miracle," Basturo said to himself.

"General John Connor sent us," Cameron replied, correcting him. "You need to keep yourself informed, General. As soon as you are well enough, you will be taking over your army."

Cameron and Allison left a dazed looking General Basturo absorbed the details of the army he was now responsible for.


	19. Chapter 19

CH 19 Storming a volcano

Sky Net ran through new computations on the Central American attack. Receiving data back that it's forces were being destroyed, and the vehicles being used, it concluded that John Connor had arrived. It's previous method of attack was no longer viable. It decided to pull back and draw John Connor's forces close to strike them down. It ordered all units to one location for the battle to destroy Connor's forces.

The long range nuclear attack had failed, and now the first attempt at destroying human future food supplies had also been stopped. It could still kill many humans there before the last of it's forces were destroyed, but the food supply would not be greatly affected. The attacks everywhere else were gaining ground as planned. The German led invasion onto the plains of Russia were effectively stopped, and the last human resistance on the Asian continent was gone. Japan was still holding out, but no longer attempted any attacks. Everywhere Sky Net was systematically getting rid of humans except in the area where John Connor was.

Sky Net could not destroy him by attacking him directly, and it could not starve him to death. He had foreseen the attempt. Every human had a weak point, Sky Net had to find Connor's weak spot.

.

Another round of weapons and supplies were dropped off 'combat' style from the heavy transports. More mini-Stugs, a few of the new heavily armored M-2 tanks that sported rail guns and had small drone 'lookouts', as well as more ammunition and medical supplies that were sorely needed. Cameron got word the supplies arrived at her command post as the base of the peninsula.

Allison knew her role in the coming attack. Sitting on a mini-Stug, she waited on the front line, watching across the open fields to the ruined jungle ahead where Sky Net was waiting for them. Few trees were upright, most being brought down in to lie in clumps of green and brown from the merciless bombardments from drones and guns. It looked like someone had picked up the jungle, shook it and dropped it back in place. In the distance, the volcano that had made this peninsula rose into the sky.

The volcano was Allison's job, to get up there with some soldiers so they had the high ground to better direct attacks. Her mother was sure that was where most of the Sky Net forces had gone. It was the most defensible place in the area. The large crater and lake within was a prime spot to hold a mass of Sky Net machines in safety from their attacks as they waited to counterattack.

In her headphones, Cameron said, "We are ready. Begin your operations."

"Right, Mom," Allison replied and stood up. Calling back to the Stug operators and the men crouching down behind the machines, she said, "Let's go!"

The group was small enough, two Mini-Stugs and fifty men, that Allison could shield them if Sky Net fired at them. The mini-Stugs rolled ahead at a walking pace so the men behind them could keep up. She stayed alert as they slowly crossed the field, reaching out as far as possible to sense for anything in front of them.

Fully expecting to get attacked, Allison was mildly surprised she neither saw nor sensed anything all the way across the field. To both sides, mini-Stug led formations leading men and armed Humvees went on their own missions. Overhead, drones cruised the sky, searching for movement.

Coming to the tree line, or rather the tangled mass of downed trees, Allison went to work chopping and throwing the mess to the sides with her mind Hands to clear them a path. Greenery came apart and flew to the sides to make a path twenty feet wide. A ruined spider shaped machine lay in the tangle, Allison ripped it apart and flung it aside with the other debris.

Ripping the first mile of jungle to the sides as they went on, Allison didn't see any movement other than what she was making. Coming closer to the slope of the volcano, she picked up movement to their right.

"Everyone, DOWN!" Allison yelled. Right after her warning, several machine guns opened up, shredding ranches and tearing up trunks. Allison blocked the bullets coming at them. The mini-Stugs turned to face that attacks, and opened up with their own guns.

Shifting to night vision, Allison could see the heat of the gun barrels shooting at them. It wasn't a clean 'there they are' sight, but a fog of heat coming through the trees. When one was hit by a rail gun round from the mini-Stug she was on, the heat exploded into a wall, making the machines impossible to see.

The mini-Stug operators did it right. They shot directly at the incoming fire. Three lines of bullets were reduced to two, then one. The incoming fire stopped.

"Wait here," Allison said aloud, and on the radio. She jumped up and flew through the trees to find the ruined machines had come out of a cave. Four Spider machines lay ruined. Looking in the cave, she didn't see any others. She did see that this cave angled up. From her geology studies, she knew this was a lava tunnel. Lava had flowed down, the outside of the flow crusted up and the interior had poured out, leaving a tunnel behind. Most likely it went all the way up to the crater, and it was large enough for the mini-Stugs to go up single file.

Allison keyed her radio. "Mom, this is Allison. I found a lava tunnel. It looks big enough to get everyone up the side of the volcano."

"I have your coordinates. Clear the ground cover around it. I'll send another team up that tunnel. Keep going on the ground," Cameron replied.

Hearing something, Allison pulled an ear piece away and listened closely. "Hey, Mom, it sounds like a whole bunch more is coming down."

"Collapse the tunnel. If you can catch them, fine. Don't let them get past you."

Allison went to work breaking apart the ceiling ahead if her. Sky showed, and the tunnel was only part way full. She broke apart more ceiling over hey and shoved it into the block, then ripped more stone from the walls of the entrance and filled the tunnel. "OK, Mom, the tunnel is blocked," she said.

"Good, clear the area and keep going."

"Right."

It only took a few mind hand swipes to make a clearing around the tunnel entrance that was now a big ditch leading to a rock pile. Allison returned to her troops, and warned the men about the trapped machines to their right, just in case the machines somehow broke through.

Continuing on, they made it to the slope, which was not even or smooth. Centuries of jungle growth had smoothed out the craggy surfaces of the slope, but here and there, sharp inclines and jagged black rock still jutted up from the ground. One place was so steep, Allison had to go up and pull each Mini-Stug up the slope, then ran a rope down so the men could climb up.

On a more level part of the slope, Allison found a small sensor box with an antenna guarded by a Spider machine. She destroyed both, then brought her group up onto the ledge. There was a worn trail here going around the volcano. It was tempting to move along the trail, the trail would be much easier going. It would also take longer, and Allison was sure Sky Net had other posts watching the trail. She also noticed everyone looked tired.

The men posted watches as they took a rest. Up here, Allison figured they were maybe half way up. The view from here was very good, she could see back beyond the base of the peninsula. That meant without a doubt, Sky Net knew they were coming. That made her wonder why they had not been attacked yet. Other than the few machines they had found it seemed like Sky Net had retreated.

The question was, where did they go?

Cameron's voice came over the radio. "Attention all units! Tracks leading into the water have been found on the eastern shore of the peninsula. A flight of drones are watching the shore lines. The Sky Net machines can operate under water, so they may come up on the shores any place in the bay, or along the sea shore. Coastal watches, report any unusual activity immediately."

Allison thought about the possibility of a Sky Net retreat. It didn't sound right. Sky Net wanted to kill. Thinking about the lack of activity, and the obvious signs of retreat, Allison came to a conclusion. "Mom, it's a trap. Sky Net is luring us into a trap," she stated.

"I agree, keep your senses sharp and expect anything. Keep moving."

Allison jumped up to bring the mini-Stugs up the steep slope on the other side of the trail. This slope had less tree cover and was a very steep sixty seven degree angle. Even the trees looked like they were clinging to the rocks to keep from sliding down. The slope only kept going up, Allison didn't find another less steep ledge. She did find a long cut in the rock that looked like a cave formed in a long slit. Climbing up, she heard soft mechanical noises.

Allison was then faced with a spider machine that saw her and shot. She jumped up and smashed it. Another took it's place, then the entire mouth of the long cave was filled with spider machines raining bullets down on her.

"I found them!" Allison yelled in her mike as she shielded herself from the onslaught. "Mom. I found them!"

"Drones inbound. Allison, back off."

Allison leaped down the slope as trees came apart around her from the intense fire from above. Machines poured out of the cave, coming after her.

Cameron's voice came over the radio. "Crater team, move to the east two hundred meters, prepare for an attack from above."

"This is Crater team One, we are engaged with machines coming from our left!"

The quiet jungle was now filled with gunfire and explosions. Allison jumped to the side to meet and destroy a machine trying to race past her. More poured down on her. She smashed and flung machine after machine off the slope as fast as possible, filling the air with broken, falling metal. She swore every machine Sky Net had was coming down the slope, directly at her. Above, missiles slammed into the machines, causing more falling debris.

Using three mind Hands to shield herself, and two to maneuver and keep herself stable, Allison was only able to use five to smash and swat away the mass coming down at her. With a scream of defiance, she used all five in one big swinging arc to clear away everything in front of her, machines, trees and boulders. As this mass flew away downhill to her left, more machines appeared on the smooth ground above her to fill the void.

Larger machines now appeared, mini-Stugs and the skeleton like terminators, all shooting at her. Again, Allison let them come on to fill the bare slope, then did another grand swipe to send the mass of broken machines flying away to her left.

"Is there no end to these things!" Allison complained as above her a new mass of machines came down at her, shooting as they charged. She swiped again, knocking more off the slope to go tumbling through the air.

Backing up a step, Allison slipped on some loose rock. She caught herself, but wasn't able to stop from sliding down the slope. Ramming a mind hand into the rock, she anchored herself in place. She now had four mind Hands to attack with. High above, another wave of missiles crashed into the attackers. Rock and metal came tumbling down the slope in an avalanche, hitting the ones coming at her to add to the tumbling chaos.

Allison jumped up and back, leaping off the side of the volcano. She dropped just head of the bouncing mass raining down the mountainside. The avalanche hit the trees, mowing them over to join the mass rolling downward. She also noticed her team was below her, taking cover behind the mini-Stugs from falling debris that was about to get much worse.

"Oh no," Allison said to herself. Those Mini-Stugs would be swept along with the avalanche, as would the men. Falling down, she landed between the mini-Stugs, and threw up all her mind Hands in a shield to protect them.

The mass crashed down on her. Screams belted out. Some were cut short, others wailed on, mixing with the thundering roar of the mass flowing over them. Her shields were pressed down hard, Allison pushed back with all the strength she had.

Seconds turned into hours as the thundering mass that shook the ground flowed over her. Dimly, she noted that by clearing away all the cover up there down to bare rock, she herself had made it possible for this avalanche to gain such speed and momentum.

After what seemed like an eternity, the avalanche continued on past them. Allison looked up, seeing nothing but bare ground with jagged stumps poking up here and there. Bits of branch and leaves covered the ground. At first, it was silent except for the avalanche rumbling on. Then came the moans of the wounded.

"Allison! What is your status?" Cameron asked, sounding stressed.

Allison got up. The mini-Stugs were still here. In the small area she'd protected, she counted twenty two men. She spoke weakly. "Mom, I caused an avalanche. We have both Mini-Stugs, and twenty two men, seven of them with wounds. I don't see any more Sky Net forces above us. I think they all tumbled down hill."

"Take care of the wounded. How are you feeling?"

"I have a splitting headache, but I'm fine."

"Hold your position. An evacuation Osprey is coming to take the wounded. Get them ready for transport."

The shocked survivors splinted broken limbs. One man had crushed ribs, he died before the Osprey arrived. Allison tearfully apologized to each of the men for causing this disaster. When the Osprey came to hover just beyond the cliff, Allison helped get take the wounded aboard. The Osprey lifted off. Allison dropped to her knees and passed out.

.

Right after Allison found the cave with a mass of Machines in it, Cameron found all her forces under attack. Sky Net machines charged into them Kamikaze style, shooting as they came. Besides the mass attack Allison had fended off, the largest attack was ten machines. Her troops suffered casualties, but held on, dealing out punishment as well as receiving it. A few Mini Stugs suffered ruined machine guns and ripped up tracks, and a quarter of the men had fallen, but every Sky Net machine facing them was destroyed.

Ospreys came to remove the wounded and a passed out Allison to return them to the airfield for treatment. By nightfall, the troops had searched the peninsula for more Sky Net machines. On the rim of the crater, an antenna was found. Cameron went to the location and found the transmitter station. There, she studied the transmitter and found the frequencies and codes Sky Net was using. Using the transmitter with their cods and frequencies, she contacted John Henry and gave him the information.

This was a major breakthrough, they had the codes and the frequencies. They could deal Sky Net a crippling blow all over the world.

Cameron used the Sky Net codes to transmit to Sky Net that they human forces in the area were exterminated, and the operation was commencing. By listening in on other transmissions, she learned the location of several other transmitters in North and South America.

One thing Cameron noticed was that Sky Net was using a buffer between itself and it's transmissions. They could not directly hack Sky Net from a transmitter station. Talking with John Henry, they agreed the next best option was to find all the transmitter stations they could, destroy the relay stations, then transmit 'Sky Net' orders to machines themselves.

.

Allison awoke with a pounding headache. Moaning, she found herself on a cot, covered with a blanket. She sat up to find herself in a medic tent, her cot was one in a line of women who suffered various wounds. She dropped her legs over the edge, planted her elbows on her knees and held her aching head. "Did too much," she muttered.

"Seniorita, you must lay down," a nurse said as she came up to Allison.

"I'm fine, just a headache," Allison replied. She went to stand up, and dropped back in place. "OK, maybe a little weak too," she admitted.

"Lie back and rest," the nurse said firmly.

"Got any food? I'm hungry, but I don't have my nutrients," Allison said, then added "Thirsty too."

"General Connor gave us what you need. I'll get you something, your packets are here, beside your bed. Now lay down," the nurse instructed.

Allison flopped back down. Casting a weak smile at the nurse, she said, "Sorry to be a bother. There are people here hurt much worse than me."

Cracking a smile, the nurse said, "Even _pequeno rosado la diablo_ needs help from time to time, yes? You relax, I will return soon."

Allison closed her eyes. Shortly, the nurse returned with pain killer and a plate of food. Once Allison ate and let the medicine do it's work, she felt a lot better. Before they would let her go, the doctor came in and checked her over, then made her do silly things like stand with her eyes closed and touch her nose, stand on one foot, and turn around with her eyes shut. Once he was happy, she got to take her packets of nutrient and leave. On the way out a female soldier got her attention and had Allison go with her. Allison wanted to head for the lake again, but did as the woman asked.

Allison was taken to a well guarded building. Passing through a checkpoint, she was shown to a room that looked similar to her Father's command center. Her mother stood by General Basturo, who was holding himself up with a crutch.

"Generals, pequeno rosado la diablo is here," the woman announced.

"Can't you guys just call me Allison?" Allison complained quietly.

Turning to her, Cameron said in her flat tone. "That name is a badge of honor now, wear it proudly. I'm happy you recovered quickly. General Basturo has something for you."

Smiling at her, General Basturo hobbled around to face her. "I do indeed!" he announced. "You and your team not only found the main Sky Net attack force, you destroyed it! Your act of bravery saved hundreds of lives."

Allison frowned at him and said, "I got half our team killed with that avalanche I caused. If it wasn't for me, they would not be dead now."

Waggling a finger at her, he said, "Muchacha, you cannot think of it like that. Yes, some men died. That is regrettable. If you had not acted, many more would have died, all of your team, as well as hundreds others if those machines would have come down and gotten behind our army."

"In war, people die, Allison. You can't prevent that," Cameron agreed.

"But we're not suppose to get our own people killed!" Allison countered with a whine.

Firmly General Basturo said, "You removed a great threat to us. I am certain if you could speak to those men who died, they would agree you did the right thing. When we go to war, we all know we could die at any time. To die so the war can be won is a great honor. IT gives the sacrifice of life meaning. If I were up on that volcano with you and I knew to stop the enemy I had to die, I would gladly do so knowing many, many others were going to live."

Allison shifted in place and hung her head. "I still feel really bad about it."

"That is because you have a good heart," General Basturo told her. He hobbled towards her and extended his hand. "I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your efforts on our behalf."

Allison meekly took his hand. "Thank you," she said as they shook hands.

"When we are stable enough, I will hold a ceremony to honor you and General Connor for saving us. The people have named you the little pink devil. I would prefer to call you, the little pink angel," Basturo said reverently.

Allison blushed. "I'm no angel," she said shyly.

"Until then, I refuse to let you and your mother sleep in an airplane!" Basturo announced. "Sargent, please escort Miss Connor to her room."

"Yes, Sir. This way, Miss Connor," the woman who'd brought her in said.

Allison followed the woman up a flight of stairs past more guards and down a hallway to a room. On the way, Allison noted the colorful tile work and paintings on the walls. The Sargent opened a door and ushered Allison into a room that looked like a proper living room with a large couch, finely crafted wooden tables decorative glassware and colorful plants bracketing the entrance to the balcony.

Pointing out the ornate wooden doors to each side, the Sargent said, "That is your room, the other is for General Connor. This room is the bathroom. You have your own tub, so there is no need for you to wash in the lake." showing Allison a thick red braided pull rope, she said, "If you need anything, just pull on this rope. Someone will come to assist you."

Gapping at the finery around her, Allison asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

The Sargent laughed. "Yes, this is your room. Relax, pequeno la diablo, and enjoy our General's hospitality."

Allison blankly watched the Sargent leave. Not knowing what to do with herself, Allison wandered out to the balcony. Standing at the stone railing, she looked down on the street below, busy with traffic. Much of it was solider traffic. A few men sat at a sidewalk cafe, sharing a bottle. A couple trucks with men and broken Sky Net machine parts slowly drove past. Going the other way, a column of soldiers marched down the street. Here and there, people sold food and items off their carts. At a crumbled building,workers, a few men and many women, were clearing debris and rebuilding a broken wall. From what Allison could see, the city had suffered, but the people were recovering and rebuilding.

"Hola! Pequeno rosado la diablo!" a man yelled out and waved up to her. This got other people's attention. A group formed as traffic slowed to a stop. Pumping their fists in the air, people happily yelled.

"Pequeno rosado la diablo!"

"Pequeno rosado la diablo!"

"Pequeno rosado la diablo!"

Shocked at this display, Allison waved to them, acknowledging them. The chant got louder as more people added themselves to the crowd below. Didn't they understand she had gotten people killed?

.

Basturo and Cameron went over the plans to enter Costa Rica and seize the grounded Sky Net ship, and any Sky Net equipment left there, as well as bring Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala into the new 'Central American Army'. Cameron reasoned it out that each country would still be a separate state, but they would have one army with one leader to fight off any threats, the benefit being that one large army had the ability and flexibility to shift forces where they were needed, be it to battle a foe or assist civilians in crisis.

The next thing they covered was recovering as many Sky Net machine parts as possible. Tracks off the broken Sky Net mini-Stugs would fit on their own mini-Stugs, and the ones that could be rebuilt would be an added asset to their forces. All the terminators and new Spider like machines, Cameron wanted to take back and study to make their own all terrain vehicles. Basturo insisted all their vehicles be remotely controlled by a human, no AI's. Every Sky Net AI chip that was found, was destroyed.

Basturo and Cameron also made a mutual defense and support pact. The only condition Basturo had, was he deal with the Connors and not the typical 'American back-stabbing politicians'. The American base was now manned and operated by Basturo, and many of the training crews had enough experience and skill, that guns and mini-Stugs were handed over to the Nicaraguan crews. With these weapons, Nicaragua was now the most powerful nation in Central America, and most of South America.

.

The training and reorganizing took another month. Honduras and Costa Rica both quickly agreed to join the new Central American union, and send ambassadors to make the final agreements as well a men to be trained for the new army. The Sky Net aircraft carrier was a loss as a ship, but the materials salvaged from the ship and hastily built factories now being used by the Costa Ricans helped begin the new Central American Navy.

With the Honduran and Costa Rican members present, Basturo made a speech in front of throngs of people, pledging his loyalty to the well being of all Central America. He then thanked General Connor for saving their country and becoming a 'good friend' to all their people. Allison blushed many shades of red when he had her come up and praised 'Pequeno rosado la diablo' for her efforts, and kissed her on each cheek. The crowd roared their approval, and Allison once again had to endure the loud chants in her honor.

Leaving in an Osprey with well wishers lining both sides of the runway, Cameron and Allison departed with most of the American forces that had come, leaving a few techs and mechanics behind to continue working with the new army. A pair of drones from the new Central American Air Force escorted the Ospreys into Guatemala air space, where a flight of F-35's took up escort duty.

.

While Cameron, and especially Allison were bathed in glory on their last day in Nicaragua, John Henry sat quietly in his lab, pinging Sky Net transmitter and relay stations. He has located every Sky Net station from Taiwan to the Mid East. Nine hundred thirty six stations over their half of the world. So far, Sky Net had not caught on, and had information the Central American campaign was succeeding. Sky Net was building it's forces up to take Africa and South America. John Henry knew the forces involved, the routes they were going to take, and when these operations were going to begin.

And so did John Connor. The biggest problem John Connor had now, was to coordinate a combined world-wide trap to attack these forces when they were most vulnerable without Sky Net finding out they were coming.


	20. Chapter 20

CH 20

Allison returned to school to find a large banner across the front of their room reading 'Welcome home Allison'. Her other classmate's greetings and hugs were not as intense as Byron's had been. When she had gotten off the plane, Byron had almost knocked her down when he ran into her, hugging her tightly and weepingly telling her how glad he was she had come home in one piece. Still, their greetings were genuine, and after finishing the day's assignments before lunch, they pushed the middle row desks together facing each other and held a party in honor of Allison's return.

Allison had a fun time in school with her friends. She told bits about her stay in Nicaragua. Becky thought it was 'totally embarrassing' she had to take a bath in a lake with hundreds of other people. Allison focused mostly on how brave and kind the people were that she met.

Watching her anxiously, Arnie asked, "So, what were the battles like? Did you have to fight many?"

Allison's face drooped. "A couple," she said dimly. "Right when we got there, a big one was already going on. The men were out gunned and out numbered. We had to fight the moment we hit the ground. We were so spread out, that I had to fight my way to a bridge and hold it by myself." With a wince, she added, "It was awful."

Byron put an arm around her for comfort. "Guys, let's not," he told them with a shake of his head.

"The important thing is you made it back," Gloria said firmly. "I take it the people there accepted you all right?" she asked.

Allison shrugged and said, "They were nervous at first. They called me pequeno rosado la diablo, it means 'little pink devil'. Later on when General Basturo got Mom and me a real room to stay in, I went out on the balcony and a whole bunch of people on the street started chanting their name for me. I was really embarrassed."

"Really?" Jerome asked. "You do know that means they really liked you," he said.

"I wish someone would chant my name," Trudy said with a sigh.

Byron looked at Becky and cracked sly grin. Becky grew her own crooked smile. Together, they cried out, "Trudy, Trudy, Trudy!"

Jerome joined in the chant, followed by Allison, then Arnie.

Trudy blushed "Guys!" she complained.

"Trudy, Trudy, Trudy, Trudy!"

"Oh God," Trudy grumbled. When Trudy tried to hide her face, the rest of the class fell into laughter.

Not long after their chant for Trudy, the speaker in the front of the room announced, "Miss Weston, please come to the office."

Gloria got up and went over to answer it. "On my way," she replied. "I'll be right back," she told her class.

.

The principal eyed Gloria and asked, "Just what are you teaching, Miss Weston? We got a report of your class being excessively loud."

"We teach advanced studies. As for today, we were giving Allison a welcome home party. I must say I am surprised at anyone claiming we were excessively loud. Children are not church mice."

"It's all well and good you had a party for a student returning from... wherever, Miss Weston..."

"Allison was returning from Nicaragua, where she spent the last few weeks fighting a war," Gloria said firmly. "I do believe the girl deserves some acknowledgement for going there to keep Sky Net out of our hemisphere."

"How old is she?" the principal asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Allison Connor is seven, she has already saved us twice from Sky Net and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. I do believe a little bit of tolerance can be afforded to her," Gloria stated.

The principal gapped at her. "The Allison Connor from the news? She's only seven?"

"And in Fifth grade. She is very intelligent, and special. I was assured there would be no interference to our class from the school. These are not normal students I am teaching, their IQ's are at least double from other children their ages. If they want to have a party to celebrate Allison coming home safely, then they will have one. Is that all, Sir?" Gloria asked heavily.

"She's only seven?"

"As of this week. Become familiar with your students. May I go? I have a class waiting for me."

The principal nodded. "Just be aware of the other classes," he said not quite looking at her. "She's only seven?" he asked again.

.

"No," Cameron said flatly to the government men who stood before her in the command bunker.

"But Mrs. Connor, if we analyze Allison, we can find out how she does the things she can do," one man pleaded.

"There is a chance we could find a way to help defeat Sky Net," another said.

"I do believe my wife said no," John stated. "That goes for me also. No one is experimenting with our daughter."

"Is this your attempt to make sure you keep having all the wins against Sky Net?" one man asked John.

John clenched his jaw at the accusation. "This is us as parents saying you are NOT going to treat our daughter like a lab rat! Everything we come up with to fight Sky Net, we have given to the military. Planes, ground vehicles, codes and software, as soon as we get it working we pass it out freely so everyone can benefit. You. Are. Not. Experimenting. On. Our. Daughter."

"That's your final word?" the older man asked.

Cameron tipped her head slightly. "It is. You don't want to start trouble you can't handle," she said in a flat tone.

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

The older man nodded and said, "Good day, Generals." The men turned and left.

As they watched them go, John said quietly to Cameron, "And here I thought we were all on the same side. Think we need to make an escape plan?"

"I already have one," Cameron replied.

"Good. We have a conference coming up on John Henry's plan to take control of the Sky Net communications and equipment. Before we get into that, let's see if this request of theirs was sanctioned."

"The could be Grays," Cameron said.

John nodded, "Or just some faction acting independently. We have them on video."

"And a drone following them. We will find out who they are," Cameron stated.

.

After school as they waited for the bus, Savannah came up to Allison and said, "Allison, I got a call from John Henry. He would like it if you would come to our house and go over something with him."

"OK, what is it?"

"He didn't say. Only that it was important."

Allison glanced at Byron. "Can Byron come too?" she asked.

"I don't see why not," Savannah said with a shrug.

Allison called her mother and asked if it was OK to go see John Henry. Cameron told her to go, and from now on, leave her phone on at all times, even in class. Allison wasn't sure why her mother said that, but did as she was told.

Going home with Savannah, Allison went down into John Henry's basement lab where he had an array of computers and monitors identical to those on his lab in the bunker. Fiber optic cable connected the two places, ensuring that at either place, he had full access and his network was secure from intrusion.

"Hi, John Henry," Allison said as she walked in with Byron right behind her.

"Hello, Allison, Byron," John Henry said pleasantly as he watched his screens. "I made a plan to take control of Sky Net's transmission stations, then the machines under control of those stations. The purpose is to prevent Sky Net from attacking South America and Africa."

On one monitor, The Indian sea was displayed, showing the eastern coast of Africa and the bottom of the Asian continent. Red dots on India and Sir Lanka were connected to Somalia and Madagascar by a red line. On another monitor, The Southern tip of South America and Antarctica was shown, a red dot on Antarctica was connected to two red lines, one to Brazil, and the other to Argentina.

John Henry explained. "My plan is to take over all the African transmissions stations, and those in South America and four I found stringing across Antarctica. After Sky Net sends it's signals to begin, I will reprogram the attack forces in flight to fly into the south Atlantic and the Indian ocean, climb to 40,000 feet, then shut down. The impact with the ocean should be sufficient to destroy the attack forces. and prevent the attack. Allison, I would like your opinion of what you would do."

"You got full control of these machines?" Byron asked.

"I will have when they get into range," John Henry stated.

Twisting her lip as she thought, Allison asked, "Can you show us on the maps where that will be?"

Dotted red lines appeared far off the coast of Africa, and encompassed South America and Antarctica. "Approximately here, where the dotted red lines are," John Henry said.

"Great!" Byron exclaimed. "You can take over the Southern force right away. Make them destroy their own base before you crash them," he beamed.

"Better yet," Allison said in a mussing tone. "If you have complete control of them, after the order for Antarctica machines destroy their base, order them to India, flying low so they will be under the radar, and have them to attack any other machines they encounter. Give one last order for them to shut down or destroy their own receivers so Sky Net cannot change their programs and is forced to fight it's own machines. Same thing for the ones heading to Africa."

John Henry looked at Allison and grew his creepy smile. "Yes, that is an excellent suggestion, Allison. Not only will that stop the attack, it will cause much collateral damage to Sky Net's own forces."

"Sun Tzu, use your enemy's weaknesses against him," Allison stated.

Tipping his head, John Henry asked, "Sun Tzu?"

"An ancient General who wrote the Art of War," Allison explained. "He was very smart. I have studied his words, and every time I use what he teaches, I win, be it in war games, or real life combat."

John Henry tipped his head and said, "The writings I found of Sun Tzu were written for ancient combat situations. We would not fare well using foot soldiers with spears, chariots and horses."

Sitting down by John Henry, Allison said, "What we are fighting with is different, but the principals are the same. We don't use chariots, we use mini-Stugs and tanks. We don't use cavalry, but we do use aircraft. The high ground for us is not usually a hill, but high in the air or satellites in space. When he talks about not 'attacking up hill', think of it as attacking a much more powerful force. Concepts like splitting up a large force to defeat it a piece at a time, and coming at your enemy from an unexpected direction, tricking and using their weakness against them still apply. Everything he says, can be related to modern day warfare."

Staring at Allison, John Henry said, "You are indeed very smart, Allison. Thank you for explaining, and for your suggestions. May I call on you if I need further military guidance?" Shifting his head to Byron, he asked, "And you also, Byron."

"Sure!" Byron beamed.

"Of course, John Henry," Allison assured him.

"Thank you, Allison. I must begin preparing," John Henry said, and returned to watching his monitors as computer code filled the screens.

.

Allison and Byron left the Weaver house to see three men standing on the sidewalk. Behind them was a long black car with the back door open.

The older man in the middle said, "Allison Connor, your Father wants you to come with us."

Allison's phone rang. She answered it.

"Allison."

Her mother's voice came over the phone. "Allison walk away from the men in front of you. If they try to stop you, disable them."

"OK, Mom," Allison replied. "But how do you know where we are?"

"I'm watching you with a drone. Be careful, I cannot hit them without endangering Byron. Hang up and get going."

"Right, Mom," Allison said, and closed her cell phone. Clasping Byron's hand, she led him across the yard, away from the men.

The men shadowed her. "Allison Connor, you must come with us!" the older man said again.

"Go away, or I'll hurt you!" Allison replied in a hard tone.

The men reached into their coats. Allison shot her mind hands out and grabbed their arms they were reaching with and pull them out so their hands were visible. The men jerked to the side with the motion. One man pulled a blocky device, the other two dropped the guns they had. Allison slapped the blocky device to the ground. She then turned, wrapped Byron in her arms, and shot herself up and away, aiming over the top of the next house.

"Ahhh!" Byron cried, and grabbed Allison to hold on tight.

As they flew away, the men picked their weapons up and followed. Allison landed behind the house next to the swimming pool. She pried Byron off her and snapped, "Hide!" She then raced back to confront the men.

Meeting the men as she ran out between the houses, the men with guns pointed their weapons and yelled, "STOP!" The man with the blocky weapon shot. A pair of thin wires came racing at her.

Allison jumped up, avoiding the wires. Lashing out, she slashed their wrists holding the weapons. Then men's right hands fell off. With a squeal of tires, the black car took off. Allison glanced at it and slashed at the right rear tire. She split the fender, tire and rim in half. The tire exploded, sending chunks of rubber flying.

Unmindful of the pain, the men all drew pistols from behind them with their left hands. They got a few shots at her, which Allison stopped. She then chopped off their left hands.

The men turned and fled, tucking their wrist stumps up under their arms. The sound of police sirens wailed out, coming closer.

Allison called her mother.

There was no hello, just Cameron's voice saying, "Get the driver, alive if possible."

Allison went after the car still trying to get away and leaving sparks where the rear end now dragged on the ground. Jumping up, Allison punched down on the hood hard. The hood drove into the engine compartment, the engine broke loose and drove into the road. The car bounced skidded to a stop. Allison landed by the wreck. The driver got out, Allison wrapped him in her mind hands. He cried out and tried to struggle. "Stop, or I will hurt you"' she barked.

The man who had been behind the wheel froze in place, eying her wide-eyed. Looking back up the street, the police had the other three on the ground, face down.

When more security men and an ambulance showed up, Allison released the driver so the police could take him away. She then went to find Byron.

.

John looked at his daughter and Byron sitting side by side at the kitchen table. Allison's look was questioning, she just wanted to find out what happen outside the Weaver house today. Byron looked a bit scared. The way he kept glancing at Allison, he wasn't scared for himself, but for her. John was pretty sure by what he'd seen from Byron since he met the kid, Allison would always have a good friend in him. That made him happy. What Cameron had extracted from those men today, didn't.

Clearing his throat, John said, "Those men were what we call Grays. They infiltrated the military, and have been feeding information back to Sky Net. Allison, one of their missions was to find you and capture you. If they couldn't capture you, they were to kill you. Lucky for us, they had no idea what they were dealing with. We found the headquarters to their group, and we're tracking down a few others. We also found signs of four other groups, but no real information as to where they are, or what they are doing. Allison, you are going to have to be wary of everyone around you and on guard at all times."

"Mr. Connor?" Byron asked meekly. "Why are people working for Sky Net? Don't they know Sky Net wants to kill us all?"

"Greed and selfishness," John told him. "Sky Net pays them very well, and promises they will be saved when the time comes. They like the money, and care only that they are able to survive. If we win, they live, If Sky Net wins, they live. Or so they are lead to believe."

"They should be shot," Bron stated as his brows furrowed.

"They will be," John assured him. "At the moment, I'm concerned about you two. If there are any terminators in these cells, they will be able to mimic anyone's voice. Cameron and I came up with a password system. If either of us sends someone to get you, or if we call you on the phone, or you call us on the phone, the person coming or the one calling says 'Jacobs'. The one being seen or called says "Ladder'. If that doesn't happen, you hang up, or quickly turn and walk away to get help." John put a pretend phone to his ear. "Allison, your phone just rang."

With a grin, Allison mimicked his motion. "Hello?"

"Hi, sweetie, it's Dad."

Allison closed up her pretend phone.

"Very good," John told her. He then looked at Byron. "Your phone just rang."

Byron mimicked putting his phone to his ear. "Hello."

"Jacobs"

"Ladder."

"Prefect, Byron," John said with a nod. "Both of you use this, even if you're calling each other. If the first words spoken are not the passwords, something is wrong. It's the same if Gramma, John Henry, Savannah, or Mrs. Weaver calls you. We are also going to get Dietrich Academy moved onto the base for better security. We want you to be as safe as possible."

.

Sally walked up to the main gate if the air base not looking the best. Here and there, patches of coltan still showed through where her skin had yet to heal over. Her blond hair had a bald spot on the top of her head, showing a small patch of coltan also. She'd been caught in one of the explosions in her apartment with her boyfriend. In the aftermath, she had dug herself out of the rubble, but the human man who loved her so much had been crushed to death. At the time, she was all but stripped of skin, and had no idea what to do. Hearing cries for help, she had assisted rescue squads in getting people out. When the gas was overtaking people, she'd worked hard to get them to shelter. Since the attacks, she had been doing everything she could to help whoever was in need.

One thing she could not do, was stop the hollow felling inside her. Before the attack, she had enjoyed sleeping, or rather laying quietly cuddled up with her man as he slept. She kept herself from thinking about finding his broken, bloody body by keeping busy all the time. Day and night Sally worked, focusing on what needed to be done. Only now, there was little for her to do. The people were recovered, and several had mentioned she should go up to the base stating she would be more help there. So Sally did.

Walking up to the gate, Sally saw the low, tracked vehicle beside the gate, it's canon pointed right at her. She also noted a solider pointed a rocket launcher at her, three other guards wee to the sides, eyeing her through the sights of their guns.

"Halt where you are!" one solider called loudly.

Sally did, raising her arms up in surrender. She called out, "My name is Sally. I came to see Cameron Connor. I need a job to do."


	21. Chapter 21

CH21

Allison and Byron sat side by side on the couch as on TV, John Connor took his place behind the podium. Dressed in his uniform, Allison thought her father looked handsome. A glance over at Gramma Sarah showed pride on her face. "I'm proud of Dad too, Gramma," Allison said with a smile.

Sarah returned her smile and patted her shoulder. "We all are, dear."

"Good Evening. For those of you who don't know who I am, I am General John Connor. I have some things I'd like to share with you."

He glanced down at the paper in front of him then said, "Two point six billion people dead so far. Not million, billion. That's half the world's population. Entire countries are laid waste, cities lying in radioactive ruin. That is what Sky Net has done. Sky Net is not finished with us. It will keep killing and destroying until we are all gone. That is, unless we stop it. This is not a war of ideals, land grabbing or glory. It is one of extermination. Sky net will not stop until EVERY one of us is dead.

We should take a hard lesson from what has happened so far. Sky Net used our...petty differences to cause countries to fight each other. It laughed as we, ourselves began the devastation raining down on us. It wasn't until too late that we realized what was happening. When I say 'we', I mean the human race. Gone is the day when what you are makes any difference at all. We who still live, need to work together for our own survival. Gone too is the day when any of us who are left can afford to be selfish. The only way we will survive is if we pull together for the good of all. Sky Net had gotten as far as it has because it was able to split us up. Now, it is taking the world apart piece by piece. The phrase, 'United we stand, divided we fall', has never been truer than it is today!

WE do not have one battle to fight, or just one war to win. Simply staying alive is going to be a battle in the coming years. Besides the obvious threat of Sky Net machines, we are also going to have to suffer through a long nuclear winter and radiation soaking the air, water and the ground. If we cannot face these challenges and emerge victorious, then will be no more generations. No more children or grandchildren. Unless we win humanity dies. That's it, end of story. Unless we all put our petty differences aside and fight together, there will be no more generations.

The tools for survival are in our hands. As long as we come together as one, everyone working and fighting hard for the good of all, we will defeat Sky Net! We will stand tall and be able to give our children and theirs a world that is habitable and free from the terrors we face.

It is not just the soldiers and front line fighters that must unselfishly give their all. Everyone from the common worker to the executives needs to be involved. Beside the combat, we have to put our all into making the radiation proof gardens sealed in long green houses to ensure we have contamination free food. Radiation free dwellings for people and livestock to live in, radiation filters for our water. People, in a couple short months, the radiation clouds from China and Russia will be here. If we are not ready, many, many more will die from the slow agony of radiation poisoning. Another vital fight is rebuilding our manufacturing facilities that became degraded after all our trade deals. There is no more China, or trade with the far East where ninety percent of our goods came from. It is just as critical that we begin to manufacture everything from the filters and air purifying units, to circuit boards and machinery. We're no longer working just for a wage, or to make money. WE are working for our survival. Just like the men out there on the front lines, everyone must put forth all their effort into finishing these vital projects.

Some scientists and political figures are saying we should try to maintain as normal a life as possible. People, they are LYING to you! There IS no more 'normal' life. We, every last one of us, are in the position of DO or DIE. I know it will be hard, many parents are not going to be able to see their children for months at a time due to being stuck at work in a factory while your family is stuck in at home, each protected from the radiation that is swirling about on the wind right outside the door. It will be necessary for survival. The radiation is coming, there is no stopping it and no short term answer for making it go away.

I want each of you, man , woman, old and young, to consider yourselves as soldiers. Not ones who carry a rifle, but ones who are on the front lines of fighting for survival, for THAT is what you truly are. Remember that and keep it at the front of your mind in the coming years.

I am John Connor and with the help of you, our human army, we will destroy Sky Net and ensure our future. Thank you for listening."

A roar of applause followed John off the stage. The TV went to a commentator who summarized John's speech, then it shifted a split screen with another commentator as they discussed the speech, then added a White House aide who disregarded John as an 'overly concerned fear monger' and claimed people could not live the hard constantly working life he was suggesting. He stressed there were hospitals if people became sick, and there was no need to go to 'all out war' over this 'issue'. He assured everyone that the government had a handle on the crisis, and refugee camps were being made available for those who could not protect themselves.

Sarah turned the TV off. "Idiot politicians," she grumbled.

"Dad's right," Allison mussed. "The previous show already told about hospitals being strapped, not having enough medicine or room for the people they have now. They can't possible take care of everyone."

"That's right, hon," Sarah agreed. "So that's why I need help to get the hydrostatic filters connected to the water lines before you go to bed tonight."

"We're on it!" Byron said as he shot to his feet.

.

John returned to his command bunker to find a list of messages for him. Besides the White House wanting him to explain his speech, the entire chain of command had also left messages that he was to explain why he didn't get authorization to go on camera. Only one General, Perry, left a message commending him for his 'truthful but brash action'.

Cameron was proud of him, and met him with a hug and kiss. She then told him what had transpired while he was away. "Sky Net initiated their attack thirty two minutes ago. John Henry has control of the antarctic forces, and expects to take over the Sky Net forces heading for Africa in one hour and ten minutes. He will time his attack with those forces so they arrive in India simultaneously. The European Union will begin their attacks one day after that. They are planning on Sky Net sending all it's reserves to help defend India. John Henry calculated they are partially correct, he computer sixty seven percent of Sky Net's reserves will be called in."

John frowned and said, "So if they have another diversion along with John Henry's attacks, that will draw more of Sky Net's forces away from their Western front."

"Correct."

"Cam, how many long range double pulse rail guns do we have in Oregon?" John asked in thought.

"Only fifteen. Their rate of fire is two projectiles a minute. There are twenty more in Washington state, in groups of five. Where did you want to attack?"

"From our satellite recon, Vladivostok has the largest Sky Net factories in that area," John said as he mussed. "If Sky Net thinks we are going to attack the factories, they will reinforce the area. That will keep those units busy waiting for the attack and keep them from joining the real battles. Order those guns to open fire on Vladivostok right before John Henry's units reach India. We'll use the guns from the Canadian border down to the eighth LR artillery unit in Northern California. If we destroy factories, fine. If not, we'll at least keep some units occupied."

"I will coordinate with John Henry," Cameron replied and left to fulfill his orders.

.

Sarah checked the air cleaning systems after she got the kids in bed. The main air intake now went through a dual filter, coarse then fine for the mechanical filters, then an electrostatic filter to remove any ionized particles to remove radiation from the air. The radiation sensor on the roof was still within limits, but she noticed it had risen over the past week.

Connected to the back door was the sealed green house where the seeds she had planted were sprouting up. Even if it became cool outside and the coming radiation hit them hard, the vegetables would be safe to eat. Tonight they had finished the water filtration system. The attacjed garage was ready to be set up as an air lock and decontamination station, if the air got so bad they had to go out with protective suits on. For the foreseeable future, their house was going to be safe to live in. She figured eventually, they might have to move underground, but Sarah was going to keep their house protected for as long as possible.

Exhausted, Sarah got a quick shower then crawled in bed herself.

.

Since both Allison and Byron were a few years ahead of their studies, they arraigned to do half days of school, and spend the other half helping to ready Palmdale for the coming radiation. One neighborhood was planning on a dome over a five block area. The people there were asking for help, so Allison and Byron started there.

The 'rad free' zone association headquarters was a two car garage with tables and plans. There were only three people inside, two women and a man.

"Excuse us," Allison asked as they approached. "We've come to help."

The short blond woman reviewing the plans laid out on the table looked at them. "Allison Connor?" she asked.

"Yes, And this is my friend Byron," Allison replied.

"Oh good!" the woman said happily. "I'm Sally, the machine your parents freed and saved from Sky Net. That's Jeff and his wife Mary. We're planning a big elongated dome over the neighborhood. We are going to need someone to lift materials up high."

Allison and Byron looked at each other. "Why not cover the houses, then make covered walkways between them?" Byron asked. "That's what we're doing on the base. Wouldn't that be a lot quicker and easier?"

Sally tipped her head slightly. "But then, the streets would not be safe," she replied.

"We are installing filters for incoming services, and Gramma made the garage ready to be an airlock for entering and leaving the house," Allison explained. "From what Daddy says, we don't have the time to build the kind of thing you're planning."

"And if your big dome gets a rip, everyone in the area suffers," Byron added.

"I suppose we could bring that idea up at the next meeting," Sally said in a mussing tone.

"And dig really deep basements for safety, and possibly living in if needed," Allison added. "These are things people can do right now."

The brown haired man asked, "So, Allison, right? You know this will work?"

Allison nodded. "Yep, Gramma Sarah has been planning it for a long time. She knew Sky Net would attack, and has been getting ready for it. The places that need to be protected are your home, and your gardens. She already has air and water filters installed, and has sealed the house up so no air leaks can get in. The radiation we have to worry about is the tiny particulate kind, think of really small dust particles. They can be cleaned from water and air by electrostatic filters," Allison explained.

"Could you show us how she did that?" the other woman asked.

"Sure! Let me call Gramma, and see if she will come explain how to do it," Allison said brightly.

.

Sarah agreed to come explain to a large group of people how to 'safe' their homes from radiation. In lecture type of presentation, Sarah showed people how to build a double filter, to remove the negative charged Alpha particles and positively charged Beta particles. She then went on with the importance of 'sealing' the home and keeping radiation out of the ground where food was grown.

The neighbor hood decided to get people working on their own houses first, then cover the streets if they had time. Sarah became the 'expert' and was invited to other meetings about radiation proofing homes. Byron helped move materials, Allison held roof lumber up in the air for men to nail in place as they worked at covering their driveways.

.

By the time they got home, Allison was tired. She was got a pleasant surprise as she walked in the door. John and Cameron were in the kitchen talking.

"Mom, Dad!" Allison cried and ran in to give each a firm (but not too-firm) of a hug. Sitting down next to her Father, Allison beamed him a smile. "Have you been OK? You've both been working very hard lately."

"We're fine," John told his daughter. "Just doing what we have to do."

Allison then asked Cameron, "Mom, how are John Henry's plans working out?"

With a tiny smile, Cameron said, "You mean the plans you and Byron helped John Henry with? Very well. So far, everything is going perfectly. We have control of the Sky Net attackers, the Antarctic bases are destroyed, we have control of the Sky Net communication hubs, and all the forces are on their way to attack India."

"The European Union is set to invade right after Sky Net sends reinforcements to India," John added.

"That's great," Byron added.

"I'll make diner," Cameron said, getting up. "John, show Allison our plans. Maybe she can think of something we haven't."

John nodded. Shifting his gaze between Allison and Byron, he asked, "Shall we?"

Both kids nodded.

John led them into the living room. Sarah moved to help Cameron start dinner and said, "I noticed you turned the active filters on. The radiation is not above long term limits yet."

Cameron eyed Sarah and said, "It is above background, You cannot afford to absorb much radiation. You are loosing wight. I've scheduled you an appointment with your doctor."

"You think I've got cancer?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. You have been working hard, so it just may be that. I would like to know for sure," Cameron replied. "And no, we don't tell John until we know for sure."

"Thank you, he doesn't need to worry about me," Sarah said with an appreciative nod.

.

Allison looked at the maps and the strategies. She then played the 'Sky Net' side, and looked for counters. Byron sat biting his lip as he studied the maps.

"Hey, Dad," Allison said as she looked at the projected thrust into south eastern Europe. "This thrust here can be countered by the northern line coming down behind the main thrust. Giving that Sky Net probably knows we need warm weather and less radiation, they could well strip the northern lines to counter attack."

"Yeah, they could," Byron agreed. "They don't care if we take the northern areas. Most of the food and oil is to the south. We don't have much reason to drive deep into the north."

"So, that is probably what we should do first," Allison said. "Up here in Finland, drive into Russia and right down the east side of the current Sky Net forward lines. If nothing else, that will keep the Sky Net

forces busy so they can't travel south. At best, it will cause Sky Net to focus more on the northern lines, and that will give the southern strike force a better chance at success."

John nodded and said, "That has been considered. There is much talk of retaking Moscow. I'm pretty sure Sky Net is spying on us, and may be expecting an attack. The problem is, Europe only has so many men and materials. Field Marshal Schmitt, the overall commander of the European Union, does not think they have the forces to make the additional attack. We've been after Argentina and Brazil to provide extra men."

Allison studied the map with a frown, then said, "I'll do it."

"What!" John cried as he gapped at her.

"Ally!'" Byron cried in horror.

Allison cast her Father an innocent look. "Dad, warfare is deception, right? Sneak me over to Norway, I'll go to Finland and get behind the lines. I tear Sky Net up as the attack starts, Sky Net will think there is a lot more forces attacking that there really are. They will have to bring up more forces to stop the offensive. Between the battles in India and those in the north, Sky net will have to thin the lines on it's western front."

"No, you're not going," John said firmly.

"But Dad, it will work!" Allison insisted.

"It's cold, radioactive AND very dangerous," John told her firmly. "You won't be able to find food or a place to even rest! Allison, I refuse to put you into that kind of position," John said, frowning angrily at her.

Allison threw her arms up and cried, "How else are they going to win over there? Sky Net is pumping out machines that fight day and night, right? The Europeans don't have mini Stugs yet, and not very effective drones. They are loosing masses of men just holding Sky Net back."

"We have total control of the Americas now," Cameron said as she came in from the kitchen. "A surprise attack by us would be the most efficient means of performing this northern operation. Sky Net will not expect it."

"Right, Mom!" Allison agreed heartily with a nod of her head.

"We use our cargo plane with escorts. Refuel in Canada, and fly to Sweden. The official purpose of our flight will be humanitarian supplies. Sky Net will not view that as a high value target. We pass though Norway, then engage the Sky Net forces just ahead of the attack. Supplies can be brought to us by drone," Cameron explained.

"And Sky Net will react, seeing this as an opportunity to destroy the human army in the north," Allison agreed.

"No!" John insisted.

"It is a tactically sound plan," Cameron stated.

"It's our _daughter_, Cam," John said pleadingly.

"Yes, that is why I am going with her," Cameron replied. After a pause, she added, "Think about it John. You did say we are all soldiers."

.

John could not believe what Allison proposed, and Cameron was going along with it! Even as he thought about keeping his family out of the fight, he also knew Allison and Cameron were good at it. Very good. Allison was a Juggernaut when she got going, wiping everything out of her way.

Rubbing his face in his hands, John knew the coming offensive was important and by plane, they could get there on time to join the offensive. Or make their own. He didn't like it, but Allison and Cameron were making sense. With a huff, he let out a long breath. "I'll go contact the joint chiefs. We have to get their approval."

Cameron tipped her head slightly and said, "Report from John Henry. The re-purposed Sky Net units have begun their attack on India. Factories and H/K airfields are being hit." She then looked at John and said, "If we're going to do this, it has to be now."

.

During dinner, Cameron relayed with John Henry to let John explain the plan to the Joint Chiefs as an 'assist' to the European forces. By the time dinner was done, ammunition and supplies would be waiting for them in Canada. General Schmitt sent word his northern forces would be to 'hold off' the expected Sky Net attack in Finland to make Sky Net believe they would be staying on the defensive.

.

Allison noted Byron seemed distracted. After dinner, John scooted everyone off to bed, stating they had to be up before the sun in the morning. Allison went upstairs, got cleaned up and went to bed.

Lying in bed and playing with Bip, making the stuffed monkey dance across the bed for her, Allison looked up to see Byron in the doorway.

"Ally, can I come in?" he asked quietly.

"Sure." Allison put Bip over on her dressing table. She made it look like Bip was flying flapping his arms on the way there.

Byron smiled briefly on his way over to her bed. He sat down by Allison. Quietly, he asked, "Please, don't go away again."

"I have to."

Lying down beside her, Byron let out a sniff. His face in her infrared vision looked hot. "Byron, are you ill?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am," he admitted. "I'm scared you're going to get hurt, Ally," he whispered. "And I'm not going to see you again for a long time. Thinking about you against ... the entire Sky Net army ... well, it makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"Mom will watch out for me," she offered. "I won't take any foolish chances either. I'll stay well within my limits."

"You better. If something happens to you, I'll never forgive you."

Allison was going to miss Byron also. She shifted over to allow him more room. "Hey Byron, let's stay together tonight,OK? It's our last chance to be together for a while."

Byron nodded and climbed under the covers. Facing each other, they held hands as they gazed at one another.

Suddenly, Allison let out a giggle. "Gramma will freak if she sees us," she said quietly.

"Your dad would too. Is this really OK?"

"I don't know. I don't see why not, we're not doing anything bad."

"I just want to see you all that I can."

"Me too. We better go to sleep. Night, Byron."

"Night, Ally."

.

In the morning, Cameron got up and rousted John, then went to Allison's room to get her up. Going in, she saw Byron and Allison close as they faced each other, their arms wrapped tight around each other. Walking over to the bed, she each gave them a stiff flick on the head.

"Ouch!" Byron complained in a groan.

"Owwwie!" Allison cried as she tried to scrunch her head deeper into Byron. "Byron, what did you do that for?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Time to get up," Cameron announced clearly.

Byron came awake suddenly. With a cry of shock, he backpedaled off the bed to thump onto the floor, taking the covers with him. Cameron noted at least Allison was wearing her pajamas.

Allison shifted her now wide open gaze from her Mother to the floor. Sitting up and leaning over, she asked, "Byron, are you OK?"

Shooting to his feet, Byron stared at Cameron and swallowed hard. Stuttering, he squeaked out "Mrs ... Conner ... I ... didn't mean to ..."

Cameron returned his stare, blank faced. "I am making breakfast. Return to your room and get dressed. This sort of thing is not appropriate, you are too young to be doing that."

Byron fled from the room. Allison offered, "Mom, We were good, honest. Byron just wanted to spend the night with me. He's real upset we're going someplace again."

Cameron shifted her blank stare to Allison. "Get dressed and come down. We don't have long," she stated, then turned and left.

.

Cameron said noting about how she found Allison and Byron, though Byron wore a guilty face through breakfast. Seeing his obvious guilt, Sarah asked an off hand question. "Allison, I didn't know your bed was large enough to hold two," she asked lightly.

Allison shrugged and said, "There wasn't much room, but ..." Her words fell off as John stared at her, then Byron. Byron flushed red.

Quickly, Allison said, "It was our last chance to see each other! We were good, we didn't do anything!"

John dropped his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. Returning his glare to Allison, then Byron, he said sternly, "That will NOT happen again. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Byron said meekly.

"Yes, Dad," Allison agreed sheepishly.

"You behaved themselves, but John is right. You can't do that again until you are much older," Cameron said. She then put their plates down in front of them.

.

John, Sarah and Byron saw Cameron and Allison off with hugs and best wishes to return safe. Once they were on their way, John went into his command center to verify everything was set for the delivery of the 'humanitarian aide'. To keep Sky Net from intercepting them, a close watch and air cover was provided on the cross country flight. In Canada, the military had C-130's standing by to carry the mass of the drones, so they would have plenty of fuel for CAP duties once they arrived in Sweden.

The ten heavy lifters flew guarded by the standard fighter and drone escort over Greenland and the arctic Atlantic. Other than a surface to air few missiles from a couple Sky Net subs they flew over, and the three A-747's shot down, they made the coast of Norway unmolested. Sweden was another story.

Sky Net was involved with a mass air raid over Finland. Cameron had their drones released from the C-130's to help in air defense. Figuring Sky Net was getting ready for an attack, Cameron had them fly right into Finland at the only airport left standing as their drones fought off H/K's.

In the air, smoke trails and explosions marked where the two forces met. The sky was filled with twisting, shooting and falling craft. Like in Nicaragua, Cameron had Allison catch the crates as the heavy lifters performed 'combat drops' to dump their cargo, then fly away to Norway where they could refuel and have some measure of survival.

In the battle to get on the ground, Cameron lost half their drones and a A747 that could just not shoot fast enough to down every H/K that came at them. First the drones protecting it were shot down, then the H/K's mercilessly attack the plane. The A747 fought desperately even as it was loosing altitude and burning from both wings. A final plasma round hit the plane on a wing root, causing it to explode.

Cameron also noted the H/K losses were heavy. Each one stayed in the fight until it was destroyed. Having the drones do a wide sweep of the area, she found not a single Sky Net unit was left.

Cameron was in the number two drone control vehicle when the local commander came in to greet them. He was an Englishman. Marching in, he saluted Cameron.

"Good show Lass! I am Major Smith. I must say, these supplies are not what we expected to receive."

Cameron returned his salute. "Hello Major. After we reorganize, we will be headed for the front. Please send a land line communication, or a runner to inform the commander in charge. If he would guide us to the largest concentrations of Sky Net in the area, I would be grateful."

Raising an eyebrow, the Major asked, "Feeling a bit ambitious? We have not been able to completely halt the advance of Sky Net. We're slowly being pushed back on a daily basis."

"It is our turn to push on them," Cameron replied. "We attack upon arrival at the front. Please inform your commander."

"Shall I ask when you will be moving out?"

"Within the hour."

.

Allison rode on the third light tank from the front of the long line behind her. Four British light, wheeled tanks proceeded the long line of Mini Stugs, supply trucks and artillery pieces at a blistering pace. Bundled up in a parka, ski mask , goggles, snow pants and boots, Allison sat on the turret, watching the sky as they ran down the road. Farther back in the column, Cameron guided the drones flying guard overhead.

It wasn't long before artillery shells came lobbing down at them. Allison reached out to knock the shells to the sides. Following the radar track of the shells, drones sped off to stop the bombardment.

Allison heard her Mother's voice come over their secure radio link. "Attention all forces. The Sky Net artillery is being destroyed by our drones. The weak H/K force opposing them has been cleared from the sky. Three miles ahead we will pass through the Finnish lines. Half a mile past that, we will run into Sky Net Terminators and H/K tanks. Allison, after we pass the Finnish lines, I will send drones down on the Sky Net defenses. Go low and attack the largest targets first. The mini-Stugs will be right behind you."

"Got it, General," Allison replied.

In the hatch beside her, the tank Captain looked up at Allison. "You're going to lead the attack?" he asked in disbelief.

Allison nodded. "I'm pequeno rosado la diablo," she said.

"What's that mean?"

"It's Spanish. You'll see." Into her mic, she said, "This is Allison, moving up to the front tank." She then jumped up in the air and landed on the second tank to bounce back into the air and land on the lead tank.

"Fuck me," the tank Captain said as he watched her fly from one tank to the other while they were traveling along at seventy five kilometers an hour.

.

Allison noted the entrenchments, and the men within were watching her as they sped on for the Sky Net lines. The tanks slowed so the mini-Stugs could catch up and move to either side of them. Shells, bullets and plasma rounds came at them in a heavy rain. Allison was kept busy knocking the rounds away and exploding shells long before they reached her tanks. To each side, mini-Stugs were pounding the Sky Net machines.

Closing on the lines of terminators, Allison pointed to a large H/K tank. "Over there, charge it!" she yelled.

"You're daft!" the tank Captain snapped. "Driver, get us into that hollow to the right!"

The H/K tank was on the left. She had no time to argue. Leaping of the tank, Allison flew right at the H/K tank. She blocked a few round coming at her, but most of the Sky Net fire was on the mini-Stugs now. On her way she smashed a few Sky Net mini-Stugs, then grabbed the remains of an artillery piece and flung it at the H/K tank. The wrecked metal bounced of the tank doing no damage. Seeing the huge tank was well armored, Allison wasn't sure if she would be able to punch through it. Instead, she landed beside it and flipped of over. With the underbelly expose, she slashed into the metal. Finding the power source, she ripped it out.

Jumping up on top of the disabled tank, Allison surveyed the scene. Spying another H/K tank, she raced for that one. Taking swipes at machines she flew behind, she slashed Terminators, a few more mini-Stugs moving to join the battle, and a couple smaller tanks. Reaching the huge H/K tank, she did the same maneuver again, flipping it over to slash it open and rip out the power supply.

.

With the heaviest weapons gone, no air cover, and being reduced quickly in numbers, Sky Net moved it's forces back to regroup and bring in reinforcements. Unfortunately, the human forces pressed on, all but destroying the defenders. A coordinated defense was no longer possible. The units left were ordered to attack separately. Sure this was the beginning of a main offensive, Sky Net stopped the reinforcements to create a bulge that it would attack from the north and south to collapse the bulge and trap the humans. Once this was accomplished, the humans would no longer be a threat to this area.

.

Allison paced herself. After she destroyed the H/K tanks, she took advantage of the chaos to flip the Sky Net mini-stugs and mobile artillery. Staying behind the Sky Net attempt of a line, she attacked from the rear, rushing place to place. The human forces were advancing, finishing off the Sky Net units she, or the drones didn't get.

After a thirty mile advance, Cameron stopped the attack on the forward front and had her forces dig in, then shifted to attack their southern flank. Allison had Cameron bring a drone in low, and caught a ride

to the largest concentration of Sky Net machines to the south. Before the sun set, Allison destroyed three more H/K tanks, and more mini-Stugs and Terminators than she could count.

.

With the success of the 'American' attack, the multinational army of the Finns, followed up attacking to the north and south, as well as reinforced the new lines. Pulled together to counterattack what it thought was the main attack, Sky Net forces were taken by surprise. The line collapsed. Pulling back, Sky Net tried to reform a new line to find it's southern forces were eliminated. It pulled all it's unit's back out of Finland to bring in every unit available.

The attack from the humans did not make sense. There was nothing for them in the cold, radioactive north. Analyzing the attack, it found a reason. If these humans could get behind the long main line, they cold possibly fold up the entire western defense. Unlike the other attempts to keep it back, this attack had been swift and gained ground quickly. Seeing through this plan, Sky Net assumed the attack far to the south in India was a distraction. It would not be fooled so easily. Sky Net sent reinforcements up to the new defense line in northern Russia.

.

Cameron was looking for an airfield. Sky Net had build one close to the front lines. All the buildings were gone, and several H/K's burned on the ground, but she could land and resupply drones there. She knew the operators were getting tired. Directing the supply trucks and military vehicles, Cameron made this air field her new base as more humans troops filled the area.

Allison arrived at the base to find two of the wheeled tanks she'd ridden on were guarding the perimeter. Walking up to one, she waved and asked, "Hi, do you know where I can find General Connor?"

The tank Captain put a light on her making her squint, then moved the light off her. "Aren't you that 'diablo' girl?"

"That's me. I have to find General Connor," Allison told him as she held a hand up to keep the light from shining in her eyes.

A pair of MP's came up to her. "ID," one said firmly.

Allison rolled her eyes at them. "I got my school meal pass, will that do?"

"Sorry, miss, this is a military installation. Where's your parents?"

Allison pulled her hood back and took off her ski mask and goggles. "General Conner is my mother, I have to report to her so please tell me where she is," she insisted.

"Hold crap. What's that on your head, kid?"

"Come on! I'm tired and it's cold out here," Allison whined.

The other MP radioed in. He received a command to bring her to the general ASAP. "OK, you're cleared. Get in the car."

Seeing the open topped four wheel drive, Allison took a leap over them and guided herself down into the back seat. She put her ski mask back on and pulled her hood up. Seeing them gape at her, she asked, "Are we going or what?"

The tank Captain barked out a chuckle and said, "That's her all right."

.

Inside the drone control / command vehicle, Allison had curled up into a corner to get some rest. She awoke to Cameron handing her a bowl of steaming food.

"Wake up, Allison, we have a busy day today," Cameron told her.

Allison ate in her corner as a few other generals came in and talked with her mother. The generals were overjoyed at their success, and planned out the supply routes to keep the army attacking before Sky Net could recover.

Cameron accepted their congratulations, then showed them the map she'd made from drones and John Henry's intel. "Sky Net is retreating a hundred miles into Russia, to set up a defense line here. It is bringing up reinforcements, ground and aerial to contain us, then attack when our attack falters. It is the sound and practical thing to do."

A German General nodded. "It is. Do you have a plan to get past them?"

"Yes. Sky Net will expect another head on attack. They will be planting units in hiding to observe us all though the open area between here and there to track our movements. We move along two corridors, searching for these units. We also send infantry out in a picket line behind the searchers to let Sky Net see we are advancing. That will keep them in place. We want Sky Net's attention on us."

"What about the attack?" a general asked.

"We do not attack, only make it look like we plan to," Cameron stated.

"We have the advantage, we should keep them under pressure while we can," the German General stated.

"No," Cameron said. "We do not have an advantage and at this point, any ground gained is insignificant in the strategic plan. What is important is keeping those Sky Net units focus on us. The rail artillery and mini-Stug guns will shoot into the Sky Net lines at the points that match the searches going on for Sky Net units. I will also send drones and fighters to strike their lines and beyond to draw out their H/K's. We make them think we are attacking but we strengthen our positions here along out current line and build a defense one mile deep. I and my daughter, Allison, will take care of harassing their lines to keep them occupied."

"Two of you?" the French general asked with a hint of amusement. "And how will you manage that?"

Cameron looked at Allison in the corner, watching them. "Allison, is your bowl empty?"

"Yes, Mom," she said, which caused all heads to turn to her.

Cameron held her hand out. "Then pass it to me."

Allison let the bowl go. It drifted over into Cameron's hand. "Here, Mom."

"A small child, capable of destroying the Sky Net heavy machinery can sneak around at night and reduce Sky Net defenses. Sky Net will conclude it is losing more units to accurate artillery fire. If we can succeed, we can force the Sky Net line back farther and save your troops until they are needed," Cameron explained.

"What was that?" the German General asked. "How did she do that?"

Cameron set the bowl down and explained. "Allison has powers. That is how she overturned and destroyed those H/K tanks, and many of the Sky Net ground units before we even engaged. In this cold, her outer clothing helps to protect her from infrared scans. Sky Net cannot detect her attacks. It is the perfect way to reduce Sky Net numbers."

"A little girl is going to attack those machines and live?" the French General asked with a snort.

Allison spoke up. "Who do you think opened the holes in the Sky Net lines for you?" she asked.

"Allison, rest today, you'll be leaving in the late afternoon, an hour and a half before sunset."

"OK, Mom, don't forget to pick me up in the morning."

.

True to it's style and it's efficiency, Sky Net H/K's came out to attack the vulnerable search parties and men advancing towards it. Met by drones and fighters, it became a battle in the air. To the south, a single drone flew low over the ground with Allison riding on it. The reports of a single drone and it's course did not alert Sky Net. It's air defenses were ready to shoot down the lone craft. Ten miles before the drone reached the new line, Allison jumped off and the drone turned back.

Keeping to the low ground and holding herself up just off the snow, Allison lay just above the ground as she walked along on her mental arms. Looking at the world in infrared, she saw the heat from Terminators and slipped around them. Seeing a pair of mini-Stugs, she smashed them.

All night, Allison snuck around smashing Sky Net equipment. Finding fuel tanks, she punched holes in them to let the fuel out. An H/K flew low overhead to inspect the damage. Allison jump high and split the H/K in half. It fell burning and ignited the lake of fuel beneath it. She flew away quickly, and went back to ground beside a road. Fire suppression units came racing down the road. She destroyed these to leave them in a traffic accident.

The sky colored with pre-dawn, Allison made her way back though the Sky Net defenses, smashing every unit she saw with enough force to leave craters in the ground. She met the drone that had come for her and jumped aboard.

Returning to the base, Allison learned the southern European offensive had gotten off to a good start. Initial losses were many, but fast tanks and mobile infantry had gotten through. Not long after she arrived, the air raid siren went off. A pack of H/K's raced at the base. Between the rail driven anti-aircraft units and the drones, not one survived.

Every day was the same. Allison slept as guns in the distance pounded away and the rumble of their aircraft took off and landed. Late in the day, Allison got up, ate, then caught a drone to go destroy more Sky Net units the artillery wasn't shooting at. The fifth night Allison went to go wreck more machines, she didn't find any. All she found was tracks and ruined buildings. Lifting herself up higher, she didn't find a single active unit. Sky Net had pulled back again.

The forward picket walked fifty miles with no sign of Sky Net except a few observation units, small unarmed tracked vehicles that ran when they saw humans coming. Some marksmen and snipers shot the vehicle's sensors heads. A British light tank platoon and a Finish light tank brigade went ahead of the infantry picket all the way to St. Petersburg before they found any Sky Net resistance. To the east, Sky Net had massed it's forces between the giant lakes in the region to shorted up their lines. They had abandoned the area of land north of the Baltic sea.

Unconvinced, Cameron had the whole area scrutinized for any sign of Sky Net. Helicopters dipped sonar probes in bodies of water and along shorelines. A flight of drones sped over the Sky Net concentrations. Three were shot down, as she would expect, but she did find masses of machines at their lines, and miles behind, set back for a solid in-depth defense. Sky Net was using a lot of machines, waiting for the attack that was never going to come.

Just to keep Sky Net from being bored, Cameron had the area between two lakes targeted, and bombarded the area with artillery and some leftover older rockets. The rockets wouldn't do much damage, if any, but it would signal to Sky Net that an attack was about to occur.

The second week they were in the north, Cameron opened a secure comm link to John. Allison sat beside her as the link opened. Byron was beside John. In separate windows below, General Parks and President Livingston's faces appeared. While Byron and Allison waved to each other, Cameron gave her report.

"General, President, Sky Net has backed away from the Baltic region, and set up their line from St. Petersburg, northeast through the large lake region. We did significant damage and are shelling them to imitate precipitating an attack."

"Why have you not gone on the attack?" General Parks asked.

"Two reasons. The armies here cannot maintain a long front line. They also do not yet have all the equipment to sustain an advance. We gained ground through trickery," Cameron explained.

"You have done well tying them down," John told her. "The southern front has broken through, and India is total chaos. John Henry reports Sky Net is sending units to India from central Asia. That means it is hard pressed to deal with the situation. If you pressed hard, you just may get through."

"Is that possible, General Connor?" General Parks asked. "General Schmitt would very much like to start an offensive through Poland."

"We will need more supplies and equipment. I only have 22 drones and 31 mini-Stugs left. The Finnish army does have tanks, but they are not very effective against Sky Net," Cameron told them.

"We will get you those supplies," General Parks stated, then asked, "If that is approved with you, Mr. President."

"Hell yes!" President Livingston announced. "Go kick their asses! Miss Connor, I take it you have been helping your mother beat back Sky Net?"

Allison nodded. "I sneak in at night and crunch them up," she said, beaming the screen a smile.

"You just keep up the good work, Little Lady. We're all proud of you."

"I will do some recon over the Sky Net forces across the Baltic sea. Let me know when to redirect my rail gun fire to help General Schmitt's army," Cameron said.

"Will do," John said with a nod. "Both of you be careful, John Connor out."


	22. Chapter 22

CH 22

The attack came as a surprise. Overnight, Sky Net shifted forces to attack General Schmitt's lines in Yugoslavia. Sky Net poured thousands of machines into the human lines, breaking them up. The humans fought back hard, destroying many machines and taking high casualties. They did not stop Sky Net's push. Sky Net had fought it's way into well as made it to the southern German border In two more days of intense fighting, Sky Net was stopped after taking most of Austria.

Hearing word of this, Cameron attacked the St. Petersburg Sky Net forces with everything she could bring up. In the first day of battle, St. Petersburg ceased to exist, except as churned up ruins on a map. With more mini-Stugs, drones and fighters, as well as Allison taking out units from within Sky Net's own lines, the Sky Net lost all it's machines in the area. Cameron broke through and drove south towards Poland to relieve some of the pressure off General Schmitt's army.

The third day of this newest battle Cameron realized what was happening. Sky Net had become a bit smarter. It was conceding land farther north and was trying to cut off the human advance into the Ukrainian oil fields. Sky Net was attempting to trap a large portion of the southern army. In the next week the battle lines shifted to be more east-west rather than north to south. This time, Sky Net was fighting hard to keep humans out of Yugoslavia and Austria while it continued to try to pinch off the main drive in the south.

A comms meeting with Schmitt and a few other generals, Cameron explained Sky Net's strategy, the attempted isolation of their armies in the south. Cameron agreed to lead a fast strike force to destroy bridges and roads to cut Sky Net's supply lines in Europe.

With drones and Allison leading, Cameron took half the mini-Stugs, 150, and thirty Drones to help the bomber forces starve Sky Net's army off from it's supplies. During this advance, Allison was busy removing machines out of the way and taking down low flying H/K's and Sky Net transports.

Allison paced herself, taking out mostly Sky Net transport craft as they moved due south. She cut down trees and dug hasty trenches to make any road to the west hard to move over. Coming upon railroads, Allison ripped the rails up and tore trestles down. Now and then, she would find some Sky Net mimi-Stugs and terminators to rush at and smash into the ground. At night, Cameron stood guard controlling the Mini-Stugs and drones so Allison could sleep. The first weeks they were attacked by H/K's. As they moved south destroying the machines, the air attacks became fewer and weaker, only a couple H/K's at a time.

One thing Allison kept were railroad rails she's split in half. They made great spears for skewering H/Ks and knocking Terminators off their feet and destroying their bodies. Allison's life became, eat, sleep, and destroy anything Sky Net she came across. It seemed like that was all she'd be doing for the rest of her life. The weather became warmer, which Allison was grateful for. She was becoming sick of the cold.

.

Near the Ukrainian border, Cameron's compact force came across some refugees. A few hundred people were hiding in mines. Cameron gave them food and water and advised them to stay put. Not long after crossing into the Ukraine, they ran into a force of ten H/K tanks, and seemingly innumerable smaller vehicles. The drones Cameron sent out were shot down, but not before they spotted a mass of units gathering to the south.

The lines of the southern European force attacking in the south were only twenty miles away. Unfortunately, ammunition was running low, Cameron didn't have the resources to do anything but warn the forces to the south about the buildup. A large flight of H/K's came at them. Cameron's force fought them off and also depleted their remaining ammunition stores.

Once the last H/K crashed to the ground with a railroad rail piercing it, Allison went to the command vehicle. Walking in, she said, "Hey Mom, they're all gone. Want me to go look for more?"

Cameron talked as she looked at her screens. "No, Allison. I am checking our ammunition. We're reloading with the last boxes of rail gun ammo. We don't have the ammunition left to attack any more. One more battle, and the mini-Stugs will be out. There isn't any more missiles for the drones we have left, and only a half load of AP canon rounds for them."

"I can go smash up Sky Net tonight," Allison offered.

Cameron eyed her in thought for a moment. In a mussing tone, she said, "We do not have much left to fight with. If they follow you back and attack us, our force is done for. Logically, we should keep a low profile and make them search for us."

Allison nodded. With a huff she said, "OK, Mom, it's just if they are looking south, we can surprise them."

"On the other hand," Cameron added, "If we draw their attention and radio in their positions, the human artillery could do quite a bit of damage to them. Sending in our fighting machines at their backs, and having our empty trucks move west, they will go after them thinking we are retreating that way, allowing us to move east on foot around them."

Allison tipped her head slightly. "What about the truck drivers?"

"Five mini-Stugs will make no difference in this battle. I'll have the rail gun ammo taken out of them to add to the others going to fight. Yes, Allison, right after the sun sets, you're going to go get their attention. As hard as you can. Until then, get some rest. We will be busy tonight." Cameron told her.

.

Allison took a nap until sunset. When she got up, Cameron showed her where she wanted the area cleared of Sky Net machines. She also gave Allison a time limit. No matter what, Allison had to start back at nine PM.

In her first entry into the Sky Net held area, Allison came across a field of mini-Stugs all pointing north. She pounded them into the ground, split some in half and threw the halves far away to come down on others. Back and forth across the field, Allison destroyed machines as they turned and twisted, trying to get a shot at her. Resting for a moment, Allison hid lying beside a destroyed mini-Stug as others and Terminators searched for the cause of the destruction. Allison them heard the thunder of landing shells. It was time to leave.

Getting up, Allison faced a terminator. Quickly, she chopped it in half then quartered it. Seeing machines turn towards her, she knew the terminator had given her position away.

"Shit," she spat, and took off as fast as she could go, ripping a zig-zag path through the machines. Coming to machines still intact, she smashed these.

Shells from the artillery barrage, bullets and plasma fire streaked through the air and pounded the ground around her. She jumped high and down to ground level in her erratic movements. H/K's joined in the hunt for her. Allison notice she was leaving the land units behind. Thrusting herself high, she gained sped with her propeller arms and attacked the H/K's.

H/K's were mobile and able to maneuver quickly. Allison was able to maneuver faster. Darting around the sky, she sliced one H/K apart after another. It wasn't long before the H/K's discovered getting near her would end in their own demise. The remaining H/K's computed they would be more effective against the human artillery barrage and sped away.

The bombing was farther off now. Allison could see the explosions in the distance. The remaining H/K's accelerated to high speed and went south. Not long after they left, a flight of drones arrived to circle her. Allison hitched a ride on a drone and was flown back to their camp.

Allison jumped off the drone and landed outside Cameron's command vehicle. She heard the squeal and clank of mini-Stugs moving in the dark. Going inside, she said, "Mom, I got a bunch. Thanks for the ride."

Not looking at her, Cameron said, "You got their attention. They are coming this way with most of their force. We will have to move very soon."

.

Sky Net enhanced the last video pictures a Terminator had sent before it was destroyed. The short figure beside the ruined vehicle looked human. A close inspection showed the hood of the figure bore points, and the face conformed this person's identity.

Allison Conner, the mutated offspring of John Connor. Searching through files, Sky Net found Allison Connor's profile in engagements from Finland all the way down to where this video was taken. Along the whole path of it's machines' destruction, Allison Connor was there. It wanted the silent, deadly weapons she possessed. It needed to take her apart and find out why she was such an effective destroyer.

Attacking the humans to the south became secondary. It could destroy them later. Sky Net ordered all it's units in the area to go north and capture or kill Allison Conner and bring her body in for study.

.

On her screen Cameron showed Allison the mass of Sky Net vehicles heading towards them in a mile long line. "They are only a few miles away. The drones and mini-Stugs will begin their attack as the trucks move off to the west. The supplies we're taking are stacked outside. Allison, when the command vehicle and the drone control vehicle are abandoned, destroy them. Let's get moving."

Cameron got everyone together. She set the mini-Stugs in autonomous mode to attack the Sky Net machines just west of them. Above them, the remaining drones in autonomous mode were to attack the same area. The mini-Stugs towing the trucks, she sent off on a road-following mode to the west.

While Cameron got the decoys out, the men gathered all the supplies they could carry. Once Cameron was done programming their machines, Allison destroyed the control vehicles, making sure she crushed every electronic circuit board to dust. Cameron led the thirty men and Allison east down a frozen stream, staying below the line of sight.

.

Walking beside her mother all night, Allison hefted her own large pack with a couple boxes of medical supplies drifting along to each side of her. Not long after they left, she head gun fire in the distance. Cameron had them get down. An H/K tank rumbled by, heading west, followed by a few more vehicles. Once it was clear, they got up and kept walking. Cameron's ploy was working, Sky Net thought they were retreating west.

The stream met a river. Turning south, they walked until the sky turned purple with pre-dawn. Cameron scouted out a dip in the ground and had them rest there. Unless an H/K flew over looking for them, they were as safe as she could make them.

Allison was tired. Siting down on one medical kit, she put the other behind her and leaned back. Looking at the tired faces around her, it was a comfort to see her mother standing still, scanning around them. She felt safe with Mom on watch. Allison drifted off to sleep.

The next thing Allison knew was talking, and the sun shining on her. Heart in her throat, thinking Sky Net had found them, she jumped up with a screech and brought her arms out to destroy the machines.

"Easy! Calm down," a strange male voice said.

"Allison, this is a patrol from the south. They are going to take us to their base," Cameron stated.

Ten more men, all armed, were in the depression. Allison blew out a sigh of relief.

The men who'd found them were a squad from the Italian 4th Army. Transports were called to pick them up.

Cameron asked her most pressing question. "Where are the Sky Net machines?"

The Sargent shrugged and said, "We don't know, General, that's why we're out looking for them. We followed one of their big tanks, but we lost it. It looked like they were headed north west. The Captain thinks they moved to get further behind us. Heard tell our artillery gave them quite a pounding."

"I have information on some refugees we found. Approximately three hundred people hiding in old mines north of here," Cameron explained. "I told them to stay put until someone arrives."

"I'll pass the word on. Mario should be back soon with the transport." He then turned and loudly stated, "OK, boys, let's get the eyes up!"

Three soldiers came together and took lengths of pipe out of their packs. They assembled a long, thin mast with an eyepiece at the lower end. Standing 20 feet tall on braces, the Sargent began scanning the horizon.

Curious, Allison went over to him and asked, "Can you see far with that?"

The Sargent grinned and said, "I can spot the frill on a Ladies' underwear a kilometer away with The Big Eye." He was quiet for a moment, then said, "There they are. Corporal, send a message to command. I see three ... four H/K's hovering, bearing two seven six, range ... three kilometers. They are low and apparently looking for something."

Allison went up to peek over the edge. Using her zoom, she saw the H/K's. She also noted movement on the ground. "Below them, Sargent, there's some on the ground."

"Yeah?" he asked. He then let out a chuckle. "And we have six ... seven .. eight metal bipeds under them." Taking his eye off the lens, he frowned at Allison. "How'd you see them?"

"I can see good," Allison explained.

"That far away?"

Allison nodded.

The Sargent laughed and said, "All right then. If you would please, keep a watch out towards the river."

Allison nodded and went over to the other side of the depression. Cameron took the north side, the other direction they expected Sky Net units to come from.

The Corporal came over to the Sargent. "Sarg, command wants us to spot for an artillery barrage. First rounds incoming."

The far off **thump** of big guns sounded out. Then came the whistling, then the impacts in the distance.

"Re-aim fifty meters to the north," the Sargent called.

Another round of heavy thumps sounded. The H/K's moved south. The area they in was covered with exploding shells.

"On target, the H/K's are flying south," the Sargent reported.

"South?" Allison asked.

"They want to find and destroy our artillery," the Sargent told her.

Allison moved to jump. Cameron barked, "No! Allison, stay where you are!"

"Mom, they're going to kill people!" Allison cried.

"And if they see you, they will be down on us again, and everyone here will die. DO NOT go after them!" Cameron said sternly.

"Hey, Supergirl, you can't save everyone," the Sargent told her.

With a whine of frustration, Allison turned back to watch the river.

"Transports' on it's way, three armored carriers with escorts." the corporal announced.

Allison noted movement across the river. The top of the H/K tank seemed to grow out of the ground as it came closer. "H/K tank, a big one!" Allison cried, pointing to it.

"Drop the eye!" the Sargent commanded. The soldiers quickly brought the mast down to the ground.

"Another one," Allison said, pointing just to the right of the first.

Cameron and the Sargent climbed up beside Allison, peeking over the top.

"Where?" the Sargent asked.

"Ten degrees to our left," Cameron stated. "If we don't move, all three should pass by us."

"Three?" he asked, wide eyed.

"Four," Allison said. "looks like more behind them too."

Cameron said, "Corporal, can artillery fire?"

Getting off his radio, he said, "Yes, can you give coordinates?"

Cameron eyed the approaching behemoths and said, "Tell them to target the river one hundred sixty five meters from our position. If the shells can at least make a crack in their armor, the water will get in and short them out."

"That's pretty close," The Sargent warned.

Cameron eyed him. "Your shells alone will not destroy them." To Allison, she said, "If they get too close, you'll have to take care of them."

"I'm ready, Mom," Allison said stiffly.

A total of sixteen tanks topped with a large plasma gun and a smaller lazer made for the river. Cameron waited until their tracks first entered the water, then said, "Ranging rounds, now!"

The far off booms sounded. The whistles announcing the incoming rounds sounded close. One landed beyond the tanks, the second landed in the water, dead center of the river. Another landed off to their right, showering them with dirt.

Cameron noted where the rounds landed as the first tanks submerged half it's bulk into the water. She grabbed the radio. Using the Corporal's voice, she said, "First round, fifty meters too long, second, perfect, third, a hundred fifteen meters short, fourth, eighty two meters to the west..."

The soldiers stared at Cameron as she called in the corrections. She then said, "Fire!"

Another volley came in, this time they were packed more tightly together. One hit a tank on top of the turret. The explosion was impressive, but all it did was blacken the surface. More landed in the water, one on the front deck of a tank, shooting up fire and spray. Once all the rounds landed, Cameron said, "Coordinates are good, maintain fire."

They watched a third volley come in as the tanks crossed the river. A shell landed right beside one. That tank kept moving, then jerked on briefly, then stopped. The others went around it.

In five volleys, the barrage managed to stop three tanks dead in the water. The rest made the far bank, wet but undamaged.

"Cease the barrage, H/K's are out of effective kill zone," Cameron said into the radio, then handed it back to the Corporal. "Stay low, stay quiet," Cameron told everyone.

The Sargent had the poles for the Big Eye shortened. He used it to peek up over the edge. "OK, they are moving due west ... they're looking around. Opening their formation ... looks like they are moving on."

"Good news," a man behind him said.

"Aww shit! They're turning right at us," the Sargent spat.

"Weapons?" Cameron asked as she scanned the men.

A soldier looked at his machine gun. "Nothing we can fight those things with," he said sadly.

Cameron looked at Allison and said, "Crawl to the river and upstream as far as you can get. Wait until they pass you, then start taking them out. GO!"

Allison dove over the river side of the depression where the ground was lower.

The Sargent glared at Cameron. "You'd send your daughter to her death?" he asked in disbelief.

Stone faced, Cameron replied, "No, I send her to their deaths," she said calmly and pointed where the tanks were coming from.

.

Allison shot along the riverbank with her Arms propelling her below the level of the bank. Hearing the clank of treads getting closer, she stopped and peeked up over the top. They were almost to her. Dropping down, she got behind them. The closest one was sixty yards away. Allison rocketed forward.

Stopping herself right beside the machine, she grabbed the side with all her arms and lifted, then added a push. That tank flipped over. She raced to the next one towards the rear and flipped that one. Flipping the third tank over, she noted they all stopped. She punched a hole in the bottom of the one she'd just flipped, ripped out the barrel sized power source and flung it at another tank as it's turret spun towards her. She jumped behind the stricken tank.

A plasma gun fired, and the landscape lit up with a blinding white light. The air shuddered, a blast wave hit her, she managed to block it and still stumbled to sit. Ahead where the tank had shot at her, a large mushroom cloud rose into the air. She took a peek around her cover. The tank that had shot was missing it's turret, the front was partially melted. Another tank had been knocked off it's tracks. The snow was gone, the ground now covered in burning grass showed the explosion had happened right in front of that tank.

"Wow," she mussed. So their power sources were nuclear. She made a special note to herself, take cover when throwing H/K tank power supplies.

Allison got up and raced on. In the fog that used to be snow, she flipped a couple more, letting the rounds the tanks were shooting at her, penetrate the exposed bellies of their helpless fellow machines. One flipped over tank shot and blew it's own turret apart, and still landed upside down. It took a while to get all of them. Allison noted H/K's in the air. They began firing on her. Racing between the disabled tanks, she forced them to get lower to try and hit her. They hovered lower, ready to shoot the instant they had a lock on her.

Allison shot up between a pair of H/K's and punched hard. The machines flew apart, one hit another one. All three went down. A lone H/K rose up and sped away. Allison dropped to the ground and ran back to the depression.

"That last H/K was a coward," Allison announced happily as she walked up to the depression.

Then Allison noticed the medical boxes were open, and several men lay on the ground as others tended to them. "What happened?" she cried as she ran down to help.

Cameron eyed her. "There was a nuclear explosion. Not large, but it didn't need to be since we were so close."

.

The armored carriers came with a pair of mounted anti-aircraft units and four light tanks. Moving quickly, the wounded who suffered severe burns were loaded first. The Sargent and a couple others were blinded and their faces were all but gone.

"I'm so sorry," Allison whined as she got in to sit by men who were still shaking from their experience.

Cameron got into the seat beside her. Putting an arm around Allison, she said, "You saved us. You did good, Allison."

Teary eyed, Allison sniffled and said, "But they got hurt because of me! I caused that explosion!" She then wailed out, "I'm so sorry!" and burst into tears.

.

The command post north of a town Allison couldn't pronounce the name of was a large, fully functioning base. Allison was checked out at the hospital complex (no reflex test) and released to her mother. Three of the wounded brought back were Cameron's men. Cameron picked Allison up from the hospital and the driver took them to the command center, which was underground.

Allison was in a sour mood from once again causing others to get hurt. She didn't care who the generals were that praised her mother for her 'daring' run down behind the lines to stall Sky Net supplies from getting through, or their praise to her for her 'epic battle' that took out more Sky Net heavy tanks in one fell swoop, than their entire army did in a week of fighting.

To Allison's displeasure, all the officers assured her heartily that even if those men suffered permanent damage, they would accept their disfigurements for the good of all, and would want her to do the same if faced with the same circumstances.

She'd heard it all before, and all their praise could not wipe out the sickening memory of those men she caused to loose their sight and their skin. Those men were worse than dead, she had mutilated them.

Seeing Allison looking like she was ready to cry again, Cameron excused them and took Allison to their quarters. Cameron knew why Allison was upset, and there wasn't much she could do to comfort her.

Sitting Allison down on her bed, Cameron took a seat beside her. Slowly, she said, "Allison. You did nothing wrong. This is war. Many men besides the ones you saw are killed and horribly wounded every day. This army alone has lost two hundred thirty thousand men and women. Nothing you do will stop people being killed. We do what we can to destroy Sky Net, so fewer will be killed. Our aim is to stop the killing, but we have a long way to go."

Head bowed, hair hanging down in her face, Allison stared at the floor. "I just can't be the cause of people being hurt," she said in a weak little girl's voice. "I ... want to go home," she finished in a whine.

A tear ran down her cheek.

Cameron wasn't about to tell her only one of those wounded men was still alive, at least for the moment. Or that there was still a job to do once they were transferred back north. By the look of her, Allison had enough of war for a while. She was a great asset, but Cameron was concerned that Allison may become mentally damaged if she was forced to continue fighting. Cameron kissed her daughter on the head and told her, "You will, sweetheart. I'll make sure you get home."

.

Allison found it impossible to sleep at night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the men in the depression, bodies and faces raw and blackened, others not so injured bandaging them. She swore she still smelled their cooked flesh. If it wasn't those men, it was the ones on the volcano with her that had gotten crushed by the avalanche she caused.

Giving up on sleep, Allison left the prefab hut and wandered down the street hugging herself. She felt tingly here and there. Knowing her own body from the army men and her mother explaining things to her, she knew nanites were at work healing her insides. That was why she also felt so hungry. Her nanites would cure her and repair just about anything wrong with her given nutrients and some time.

Why couldn't normal humans have nanites?

A cook tent was set up for the night watches. Allison wandered over to it. On the way, she saw a small piece of steel lying on the ground. Her nutrients were someplace, she'd lost them. She picked up the chunk of steel, cleaned it off and broke it apart into tiny bits and ate it.

"Hey, are you eating things off the ground?" a uniformed woman at the cook tent asked as she stared at Allison.

"Hungry," Allison said tonelessly.

The woman walked over and took her by the arm. "Come on over here and let me get you something. Eating things off the ground is not good for you!" the woman admonished.

Allison didn't reply. She sat down on the bench where the woman guided her. Moving around behind the counter, the woman asked, "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Can't sleep."

The woman dipped a ladle into a pot of steaming, hot stew. "Well, hon, you should try. The guns are quiet tonight. It's your best chance," she said as she filled a bowl and set it in front of Allison. The woman then got her a chunk of bread.

"Now eat up, and then go back and try to get some sleep."

Staring into the bowl that was wafting up tasty tendrils of steam, Allison said, "I try to sleep, but when I close my eyes I keep seeing dead people. Some look ... skinned. I see them, and I don't want to sleep any more. I stay awake so they will leave me alone."

"You poor dear," the woman said softly.

Allison dipped her spoon into the stew and noted her hand was shaking. "I want to help Mom, but I'm a afraid I might cause more people to get killed. Every time I help, more die."

"We are fighting a war, hon. No matter how much you want to avoid it, people die."

Allison let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Yes, more die. More and more. Sky Net does want to kill us all, right?"

"That is why we fight back. We must, for our own survival," the woman said gently. "Now come on, eat your stew. Dwelling on it will not make it better."

The woman was right. Allison nodded. She sipped spoonfuls of stew. Eating a few of the potato chunks, she said tonelessly, "This is really good."

"Or, maybe you're that hungry," the woman said with a grin. She then gently asked, "Do you have any family around here?"

"My Mom. Dad is back home in the US, so's Gramma and Byron."

"Ahh, Byron is your brother?"

"Not really," Allison said with a shrug. "He's a good friend. Sky Net killed his family so he lives with us now."

"If you live in the US, what are you doing here?"

"Mom's a General. We came down from Finland. Got rid of some Sky Net machines and destroyed bridges, made roads impassible, things like that along the way," Allison explained.

"That was you?" the woman asked in a gasp. "You and your mother made that run down behind the enemy? Your name wouldn't be Connor, would it?"

"Allison," she agreed with a nod.

"Good Lord, child, you're a hero! I heard you destroyed a dozen of those big Sky Net tanks, one after the other. No one has ever done that before. Such a brave girl!" the woman swooned.

Allison stopped eating. Looking at the woman with her haunted gaze, Allison said, "I'm not brave. I attacked from behind, I slipped close so they didn't know I was there. The brave ones, the truly brave? They go out and fight Sky Net with weak weapons knowing they may well be killed, or horribly wounded. I hear them, their moans of agony and screams when they are brought back. That is, the ones who lived. I know others going out to do battle hear those same cries, but they go out anyway knowing the same thing may happen to them. I'm not brave, they are. I'm just good at destroying things."

"You're not afraid you could get killed?"

Allison let out a snort. "Only if they catch me sleeping, which I probably am not going to do for a while."

A soldier walked up behind Allison. He studied her, then asked, "Allison Connor?"

"Yeah?"

The soldier unslung his machine gun, pointed it at her back and opened fire. The woman screamed and threw herself down on the ground. Allison sat, glaring at nothing as he emptied his weapon at her back.

Once the bullets stopped coming, Allison let the bullets fall to the ground. Slamming her spoon down, she got up and face the blank faced soldier. He tipped his head as he studied her.

"Is that all you got?" Allison asked angrily.

Confused the soldier tossed the machine gun down and pulled pistol. Allison grabbed the pistol and wrenched as she pulled, ripping his hand off as well as the pistol. Sparks flew briefly from his wrist. 'Try again," she stated harshly, and pushed him back.

The sound of gunfire raised the command post's alarm. Flood lights slashed through the dark and soldiers scrambled. The Terminator looked around and moved to walk away.

"NO! You are not leaving!" Allison yelled. She shot an Arm out and grabbed him. Picking him up, she slammed him back to the ground in front of her. "NO RUNNING, you heartless metal FREAK! Stand and fight!"

Fearfully, the woman at the lunch stand peered over the counter to see Allison wasn't dead, but was standing with her fists balled, looking very pissed off. The solider who emptied his machine gun at her back was lying on the ground. The terminator got to his feet.

Allison picked him up again, higher this time, and slammed him down again. "Call your boss!" she raged. "Call him and tell him I WILL be coming for him. Sky Net can't run, it can't hide from me!"

Allison picked the terminator up again, this time sixty feet into the air. She slammed him down with all her might. The ground shuddered, dirt blasted out of the hole as if an artillery round had landed.

Allison strode up to the pit the terminator had made upon landing. The body was spitting out sparks. "YOU HEAR ME SKY NET? I AM COMING FOR YOU, AND ALL YOUR TINKER TOYS ARE NOT GOING TO STOP ME!" Allison screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU ARE GOING DOWN!"

Allison then grabbed the terminator and ripped it apart. She crushed it's head and threw all the pieces back in the hole, screaming, "FUCK YOU AND ALL YOUR GENOCIDAL BULLSHIT!"

Quivering in rage, Allison glared down into the hole as silence surrounded her. Noting someone's presence, she looked up to see a line of soldiers watching her, mouths agape.

"Allison, are you hurt?" Cameron asked.

Allison turned to see more soldiers with various weapons watching as her mother approached.

Quaking from the rage she felt, Allison said in a calm voice as possible, "Mom. These things need to be stopped. I'm tired of seeing dead people strewn all over. I'm SICK of this STUPID WAR! Please, find Sky Net. Find it so I can crush it!"

Cameron walked up and hugged Allison. Allison returned the hug and burst out in a miserable wailing cry.

Seeing the large audience standing in a wide circle around them, Cameron said, "The threat has been neutralized. Go back to your barracks."

.

"Thank you for the stew," Allison said meekly to the woman who now shook with fear in her presence. She pushed the empty bowl back to the woman's side of the counter.

"Do you feel better now?" Cameron asked from the seat beside Allison.

Allison nodded. Looking at Cameron, she said, "We can't go home, can we? We have to stay and destroy Sky Net once and for all."

"If you want to go home, I'll make sure you do," Cameron told her.

"No Mom, I can't. Not while Sky Net is still out there. Everyone here is trying so hard, but they can't do what I can," Allison explained. "All that studying war, learning and playing with Byron and my friends. This is what it all means, right? I have to stop Sky Net, because no one else can."

"You can't do it by yourself, sweetie. I have no doubt Sky Net is planning to hit this place hard as soon as possible to get rid of us," Cameron explained.

"I know, that's why we have to leave and make sure Sky Net knows we're leaving," Allison reasoned.

Cameron nodded. "That is correct. Why don't you go back to our quarters and get some sleep. I will go make a plan, then we will go find Sky Net."

"OK, night Mom," Allison said. She got up and hugged her mother, then wandered back to their quarters.

Cameron watched Allison go. The woman behind the counter came up to her. "Excuse me, Ma'am ... General? What is your daughter? How can she ... do things like that?"

"Allison is part yokai," Cameron said, keeping her gaze on Allison walking away.

"What's that mean?"

"Yokai is a term equivalent to 'monster'. Beings like vampires, witches and werewolves. Allison is invulnerable to bullets and can destroy things far beyond arm's reach. She doesn't need a gun. She can fly, and when they are angered, yokai can be very destructive," Cameron explained.

"Things like that are real?" the woman asked with a gasp.

"Yes, and Allison has made Sky Net her personal enemy. When we find it, she will destroy it. Right down to the last circuit board." Finally looking at the woman, Cameron said with a huff, "I only wish she had time to grow up like a normal child before all this started."

.

Allison managed to sleep and had a new nightmare. This time she was standing on a pillar. Around her, all the bodies, the burnt faces and wrenched looking people gazed up at her with pleading eyes. Every one was crying out for her to save them. Allison did wake up from this dream, in the morning. She got dressed and went to find her mother. She was not going to let those poor people's cries go unanswered.

.

Sky Net recomputed it's strategy. For the moment, it had a much more powerful enemy than the humans. One who could destroy it's machines at will, and proved to be very hard to stop. In it's calculations, Sky Net increased the production of H/K aerial units to search, and armed the new units with larger guns and packed them with toxic gas canisters. It also made thousands or small, quiet units to search the ground without being spotted.

The current battle lines were wavy with many points the little horned girl could sneak through. Sky Net collapsed the lines, pulling completely out of Europe and remakde a defense along the edge of rivers in Eurasia. Where there was not a river, it bulldozed the land in front of it's new lines completely flat for two kilometers distance so Allison Conner could not sneak through to destroy it's machines.

It kept terminators out closer to the humans, with enough numbers and heavy weapons to keep them in check, along with some hardened fixed positions. Most of it's forces it drew back behind the lines to constantly search for and be ready to engage it's most dangerous enemy. Allison Connor.


	23. Chapter 23

CH 23

John read the headlines of the newspaper. The front page picture showed a pile of terminator pieces in what looked like a blast crater. The headlines read : SKY NET BEWARE! ALLISON CONNOR IS COMING FOR YOU!

The article told about Allison's long drive down behind Sky Net's lines, destroying machines, roads and bridges, to culminate in a battle with Sky Net forces that were gathering to attack the Southern European army. Allison then moved to a river and destroyed sixteen of Sky Net's heavy tanks single handedly. The reporter then told the story of a terminator that found Allison sitting down to eat, and emptied an entire .30 caliber machine gun into her back at point-blank range. Allison got up and destroyed the machine in front of hundreds of soldiers.

The reporter gave Allison sole credit for causing the 'total collapse' of the Sky Net battle lines in Europe, and stated this little hero was now at an undisclosed location, making her way to Sky Net to personally destroy it and end the war.

John tossed the paper back onto the conference room table. Scanning the generals assembled there, he said, "It's good the people have a hero. It's not good if we start thinking this war is all but over."

"I have seen what pequeno rosado la diablo can do," General Basturo stated. "At home, our people are making a statue of her to show their gratitude. You should be swelling with pride at her accomplishments."

John nodded to him. "I am, General. No one is prouder of Allison than I am. I'm only saying we can't let her bear the brunt of this war. She's a little girl guys, she's only seven. I have no doubt she can destroy Sky Net if she finds it. She is going to need a lot of help from us in finding Sky Net and keeping all it's forces occupied. Despite what people think, she's NOT invincible."

"I agree," General Schmitt said. "I do thank you, General Connor, and General Parks, for lending us your assistance. The tactics General Cameron Connor used were flawless, allowing us to break the Sky Net lines and push Sky Net far back into Russia. We need to keep up that momentum. At this point I would like to see an advance from Alaska into northeast Russia. The land masses are close."

"We do need to open up a second front," General Parks agreed. Looking at General Montazua, he asked, "Is it possible to get Japanese support for a landing in north east Russia?"

The Japanese general nodded. "We have been at the front of this war, facing China all but alone. I blame no one but Sky Net for this. The sea is full of Sky Net machines that prey on shipping of any kind. We have produced many heavy lift cargo planes, drones and fighters to prepare for a large air assault, as well as a fleet of General Connor's lazer mounted ex-passenger planes. We can air lift forces into the Kamchatka peninsula, or farther north if you wish. While we do not have the mini-Stugs, we do have a very similar light tank with the 130 mm rail gun. We also have long range artillery we are currently using against Sky Net in China to help support an operation. In our eyes, the sooner we do this, the better," he said, finishing with a stiff head nod.

"Central America will do all we can," General Basturo stated with a nod at John.

"Us Brits are bogged down in Europe. Sorry, old Chap."

General Parks nodded to the consensus. "I'll have my best men begin working up a battle plan and coordinate with General Montazua."

"Excuse me, General Parks?" General Basturo asked. "From experience, I believe the Connors should be heading this operation."

General Parks sported a small grin as he said, "Of course. I did say my best men would be on the job."

John sat and listened as he was made General in charge of the new eastern Army.

.

Cameron, Allison, and a troop of volunteers from the Russian 31st army rode armored fighting vehicles through the front lines that now extended into southern Russia from the Ukraine. The men and women in the eight vehicles were as well armed as possible with Stinger shoulder fired missiles, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

The battle line was moving forward, meeting some resistance from terminators and gun emplacements. When found, these were destroyed or isolated. From reports, Cameron learned the closest stiff Sky Net resistance was parked along the east banks of the Don river.

Following John Henry's theory of where the nearest Sky Net communications tower should be – by the placement of the towers he had found, Cameron led her force to vacant plain. Vacant except for a tall tower surrounded by hundred meter diameter defense wall that sported lazer and plasma guns every fifteen meters along the top of the walls.

Stopping her vehicles two kilometers from the tower along a stream bed, Cameron figured this was as close as they could get without being seen.

The Russian Major eyed the tower with his binoculars. "Ha! We can have that tower down with no trouble. I'll move my men closer, and we can take it out with mortars."

"No. We want to use it, not destroy it," Cameron told him. "Check up stream for traps and sensor devices."

The bearded Major stared at her. "General, you wish to kill all my men to take that tower intact?"

Cameron cast him a blank face as she said, "I want you to check for sensors along the stream. If any are found, do not disturb them. Return immediately. Have the rest of your men set up a perimeter and stay low. Allison and I will go to the tower."

The Major shifted his gaze to Allison. With the warmer weather, she was wearing a camo outfit and a camouflage cap to cover her pink hair. He'd heard of her exploits. Rumors were that the small girl was some kind of powerful monster, able to destroy anything and impervious to any weapon. Even a machine gun pointed right at her from a few feet away couldn't hurt her. "All right, general. We will do as you wish."

Looking at the distant tower, Allison tried to figure out how best to get to it. The trickiest part was getting to the outer walls without being seen. The ground here was tabletop flat. "Mom, the brush goes up close to the wall, but it kinda looked bulldozed hear it."

Cameron extended a Big Eye pole and scrutinized the area. "Yes, flat open ground a hundred yards out in every direction. You'll need to cross that ground before those guns can shoot. Are you confident you can do that?"

"Yeah," Allison agreed wit a nod. "Then what? Over the top?"

"No, through the base of the wall. Make a hole and we go in. The guns atop the wall won't be able to shoot, and whatever defense is inside, will have to come to us," Cameron explained.

"OK. So, we wait for nightfall?" Allison asked.

"There is no advantage in waiting. Get two blankets," Cameron told her. She then went to the back of a vehicle and got out a rocket launcher and box of rocket propelled grenades. When Allison came back with the blankets, Cameron said, "We have two kilometers to go on our hands and knees. When we get closer, the blankets go over us to hide our thermal image. Come."

.

Allison wasn't happy about crawling over a mile and a half. She knew why they were doing it, they had to stay hidden. Crawling was hard enough, but her mother insisted they didn't even rustle the brush over their heads. The going was slow. With the sun beating down on them, Allison was wishing for a bit of that cold weather to blow in. Bringing only what they needed, she was also wishing for a drink of water.

Quietly, Allison asked as she crawled along, "Mom? Why is this tower so important?"

"It is the next tower in the string John Henry can access. It is also one on this side of the Don river that controls Sky Net units across the river. We take control of this tower and we can control those units."

"Make Sky Net fight itself again?"

"This time, we make those units let us through without a fight. Later, they can fight each other," Cameron explained.

Allison's knees were becoming really sore by the time they closed on the open ground in front of the wall. The last hour, Cameron had Allison hold the blankets over them, again without disturbing the brush. It was hard, but Allison managed to keep from shaking the bushes. Down here at ground level, there was a little room to squeeze between the branches.

Coming upon the edge of the brush, which bore a ridge of dirt. Cameron had Allison lie down and rest for a few moments under their blankets.

In a whisper, Cameron said, "When you are ready I'll get on your back. Get across that open ground as fast as possible."

"I'm glad you're made of metal, Mom. We're going to hit that wall hard and fast," Allison whispered back.

"Tell me when."

Allison prepared herself and nodded. "OK, Mom. Get on."

Cameron climbed on top of Allison, holding her weapons. Allison put an Arm around her mother to hold her in place. Reaching out with four Arms, she dug them into the dirt near the wall, and set another two behind her to push. Suddenly, Allison got an idea. Right as she thrust herself at the wall, she threw the blankets into the air with two more Arms.

The blankets flying up got the attention of the automated guns. They shot, ripping the blankets to burning shreds as Allison rocketed across the open ground. Allison picked herself up to hit the wall vertically, attempting to cushion the shock. It worked, partly. She still hit the wall hard, becoming pinned between her mother and the wall.

"OOUCH!" Allison cried with a wince as she crushed between them.

Stumbling to her feet against the wall, Cameron watched the guns above them. Made for air defense and long range ground defense, the guns could not depress low enough to shoot at them. "Allison, dig a hole," she commanded.

With the pain, Allison's Arms didn't want to work. With the one she was able to make work, she battered the wall, making concrete fly. A few reinforcing bars she had to rip out. Pounding the hole deeper, Allison made a doorway sized opening. She had to drill ten feet before concrete exploded out inside the walled area.

"I'm through!" Allison announced, and pounded the hole bigger. On her third punch, enlarging the hole, Allison noted a Terminator holding a plasma gun. She jerked back away from the hole. The plasma shot past her and out across the field. "Your turn, Mom!"

Cameron stepped in front of the hole and shot a grenade. It hit the terminator, blowing it back of it's feet. Quickly reloading, Cameron strode in searching for another target. Another was coming. Cameron shot that one and stepped out of the hole inside the wall.

Allison ran in behind Cameron. The first terminator was getting up. Allison used her only working Arm to punch it hard, destroying it.

"That door, run!" Cameron snapped.

Allison saw the door in the building at the bottom of the tower. She also saw another terminator coming. She hobble- ran beside her mother and kept a close eye on it. It fired, she knocked the plasma beam behind them.

"Can't you run faster than this?" Cameron snapped at her. They were running over twice human speed, but she'd been planning for Allison to be across this open area and out of danger almost instantly.

"I hurt, only one Arm will work!" Allison cried back, and deflected another plasma round.

Cameron shot another grenade on the run. It hit between two terminators, blowing them off their feet.

Allison flailed out with her single Arm, slicing another one down the middle, then chopped one behind them in half.

A terminator got to it's feet and shot. Allison barely blocked the shot, keeping her mother from getting hit. "This isn't good, Mom!" she cried.

A mini-Stug rolled around the building to stop right next to the door, blocking it. Three more terminators followed it.

Seeing what was happening, Cameron knew she was doomed. "Allison, escape, get out of here!" she yelled. She stopped to reload her last grenade.

"I can't! Only one Arm works," Allison cried. "This is NOT good at all!"

More terminators appeared and surrounded them. An amplified voice called out, "Drop your weapon! Cease your resistance and you shall both be allowed to live!"

Cameron dropped her grenade launcher. "Allison, get back out the hole. Now!" she barked.

Allison raised her hands in surrender. She was not going to leave her mother to die alone. "Not without you, Mom," she replied in a hollow tone. Her ribs ached and now with being captured, she had to force herself not to cry.

.

Sky Net was surprised and very pleased. It had Cameron and Allison Connor in it's grasp. Once it killed John Connor, victory would be assured.

.

Allison groaned as thick handcuffs were put on her and her mother by one terminator. The others stood back, their weapons leveled on the two prisoners. It seemed the machines were still nervous. A push from behind got Cameron and Allison moving towards another building that sat away from the tower.

The door into the bunker like structure was opened by a machine. They were shoved inside the dark opening, and the thick steel door was slammed shut behind them.

Adjusting her vision, Allison noted the small, empty room they'd been forced into. It was plain concrete all the way around.

"You should have run," Cameron stated.

"It won't leave you alone here, Mom," Allison replied.

"Welcome, guests!" a man's voice called out from the dark.

Allison noted a speaker high on the wall and cameras in the far corners. "He's in another room," she said.

"Very good, child. I suppose you are the infamous Allison Connor?"

"Don't answer," Cameron said quietly.

"Don't be like that," the man said in a smooth tone. "You should be relieved. There is no more fighting and war for you. Now if you would happen to see the truth then you too could benefit from our master's benevolence. Those who serve Sky Net instead of trying to fight it, live very comfortable lives."

"You are a traitor to your own race," Allison stated.

"Why do you say that?" the man asked in a smooth tone.

"Because I can tell by your voice, you are human," Allison told him. "Sky Net is out to destroy humanity."

"What makes you think you will be spared after Sky Net no longer has a use for you?" Cameron asked.

Allison could feel her nanites at work, mending her ribs and soreness.

"Because we are loyal, and thanks to you wandering in here, I just got a promotion! That was rude of you to break a hole in my wall. Just how did you do that?"

Allison flexed her shoulders. Yes, she was feeling better. "I have a hammer," she said.

"A hammer?" the man asked, "You are telling me you broken through a three meter thick reinforced concrete wall with a hammer?"

"Yup. I hammer in the morning. I'll hammer in the evening. All OVER this land." Allison announced.

"Cute. You won't be so jovial when Sky Net gets here to retrieve you," the man said sourly. "I am giving you a chance to save yourselves. You should take it."

Cameron eyed Allison. "Are they working?" she asked.

Allison nodded. "Give me a minute, Mom."

The man's voice lost it's humor. "Tell me how you got through my wall, or you will be very sorry," he said in an ominous tone.

Allison looked at the ceiling. It looked to be that standard concrete roof, most likely also reinforced. "I can show you, if you like. Where are you?"

"Someplace where I can see you. Last chance, I want to know what you used to get into my compound!"

Allison tested her Arms, bringing them out. Yes! She had all ten. "OK, fine!" she said in a huff. "I guess I'll just have to show you." She sent six Arms at the ceiling, spaced out, and four at the steel door.

**BOOM**

The ceiling erupted up and away as the door blew out of it's frame and smashed the pair of terminators standing outside. Standing in the daylight now, Allison made sure the roof was tumbling away, and not falling back down on them. She broken her cuffs and the ones off her mother.

"Stay low, Mom, I'll take care of these guys," Allison said, and jump up out of the remains of the building.

With her Arms back, Allison raced out and smashed terminators into the ground before they could shoot. She flung the mini-Stug at the hole, then raced around to finish off the remaining terminators. The ground clear, she ripped the door off the building under the tower and strode inside, looking for something else to kill.

Faced with stairs to her left and a door to her right, Allison broke the door in. Inside was a control room. A man sat at the counter watching a monitor. Around him were control panels. He turned to stare at her. Reaching out, she pulled him from his seat. She pulled too hard, his bottom half only flopped down. The upper half she was gripping trailed guts between the seat and his torso.

"How's that nice life treating you now?" Allison asked the man who was in shock, his life draining away on the floor. He didn't reply, only stared at her, so she threw him into a corner. Allison turned to go get her mother. Cameron appeared in the doorway.

'This what we're looking for?" Allison asked.

"Yes." Cameron stated, and strode in.

Allison wasn't sure what to do as her mother did her tech thing and contacted John Henry. There was nothing left outside, so she climbed the stairs. On the second floor she found another door to shatter. A scream wailed out as she went into a living area. It was a nice apartment with soft stuffed chairs, comfy looking couch and in the well appointed kitchen area, an oriental woman was gazing fearfully at her.

"That pan you're holding won't do you any good. Unless you are going to cook something," Allison told her. Allison looked through the apartment. Other than the woman and the baby she was trying to hide under the sink, there was no one up here. The woman stood stock still as Allison inspected the apartment, then returned to the door.

Seeing the woman was still staring at her, Allison pointed a thumb at herself and said, "Pequeno rosado la diablo. Remember it."

.

Having control of the communications tower, John Henry first reprogrammed the tower defenses to attack Sky Net units and let human units pass. Once he did that, Cameron called her Russian friends up to the tower.

Although Allison saw no threat from the woman and her child, Cameron insisted they were Grays and had to be killed. Allison first argued, then pleaded with her mother to at least let the baby live. Cameron agreed and had Allison take the baby down and outside the tower wall so a helicopter could take the infant to safety. The soldiers took all the food and gasoline stored at the tower. A helicopter came. Allison handed the infant to the gunner. "Good luck, baby," she said with a wave as the helicopter departed.

Night was falling as they got back into their vehicles and headed for the Don river. The river here was wide. The armored carriers were 'swimmers'. They drove into the water and motored across. On the far bank, Sky Net fixed gun turrets, tanks and H/K's were in abundance. Not one fire a shot as the line of fighting vehicles crossed, then climbed up the banks to continue on. Through the three kilometer deep defenses, Cameron's force was ignored. Getting behind the lines, they kept moving deeper into southern Russia and closer to China.

.

Cameron has supplied John Henry with the new Sky Net pass codes. With these, he was able to take over several communication towers before Sky Net revised it's codes once again. He did get control of the ones in southern Russia, the western edge of Kazakstan, and down to Iran, enabling him to re-purpose a large section of Sky Net's defenses to assist instead of fight the human armies coming their way.

"Hey, John Henry? Are you busy?" Byron asked as he stuck his head into John Henry's control center.

"Hello, Byron." John Henry said. He brought up a map of south central Asia. Pointing to a red dot on the map, he added, "Allison is right here, still moving east. That is what you wanted to know, correct?"

"Yeah. Thanks, John Henry," Byron said, and looked at the spot. "Wow, that's almost to China! She's avoiding Sky Net machines, isn't she?"

"As often as they can," John Henry assured him. "For the moment, I have control of machines in the area she and Cameron are in, so they will not be attacked."

"John Henry, thank you for watching out for Allison," Byron said meekly.

"I will do my best, Byron." John Henry assured him.

.

Rolling into a remote town, Cameron's vehicles were running low on gas. Guns up and ready to shoot, the Major scrutinized every vacant building. He called a halt in the center of the collection of houses.

With the vehicles shut down, the air was dead silent.

"Everyone out, look for gas," the Major commanded.

The soldiers spread out, guns at the ready in case something jumped out at them. Allison listened closely, the only sounds to be heard were the soldier's footsteps. Getting out herself, she went around on back of a house needing desperate repair and found a small, rusty car. Taking the gas cap off, she sniffed. It smelled like gas.

Lifting the car up, Allison pulled the gas tank out from under the car. A couple shakes proved there was something in there. She took the gas tank out to one of the soldiers and gave it to him, then went to go find more.

An above ground fuel tank was found that was a quarter of the way full. Instead of trying to siphon the gas out, Allison picked the tank up and carried it to the lead vehicle. There was only 50 gallons in the tank, but it all but filled the tank on the fighting vehicle.

Searching the town, they came up with another fuel tank beside the barn of some farmer. A couple small containers were salvaged, enough to get some fuel in each vehicle. Whether it was enough to get to the next town, no one knew.

Scrounging up fuel took them the rest of the day. They did find enough to at least give every vehicle a half tank. Cameron and the Major decided to stay here the night. It was quiet, and outside the town they had a good view across the fields all the way round.

Allison occupied the floor of one larger house, along with seven of the female soldiers. The women stayed alert and didn't speak much. Allison could see they were on edge. By the glances she received, part of their nervousness was due to her.

Allison got some descent sleep, and early in the morning, she convinced Cameron to let her 'scout ahead' for another town before they moved out again. The Major had a map of southern Russia, but they had run off that map. Flying off, Allison went twenty miles before she found another town along the main road. Again, this town was empty except for a few decaying corpses lying in the street.

Town by town, they drove through whatever-stan they were in. Cameron led them off the road to go find another communications tower. This one wasn't defended. Cameron got access and changed the pass codes, and John Henry took the tower over. In this 'pacified' area, they didn't see a single Sky Net unit.

Not long after leaving the last tower, they came upon what was almost a city at the edge of what looked like a sea. The sky was so dark with heavy clouds the vehicles had their lights on. Lightning flashed though the dark gray mass over them, making the scene before them even more surreal. Traveling slowly down the main street with the hatches open and guns ready, Cameron pointed out a couple large warehouses to hide their vehicles while they sat out the coming rain storm and searched for more supplies. The overhead doors were are ground level. Once they verified the area and the insides safe, the Major backed his vehicles in.

Cameron watched the sky line from a side door. Not long after they were inside and the large overhead doors were shut, the sky opened up in a torrential downpour.

Coming up beside Cameron, the Major said, "Radiation readings are getting higher. We got out after the rain. No eating anything we find here."

"How are our supplies?" Cameron asked absently.

"We have another week of rations, if we live that long. We are far behind our lines," the Major said in a grim tone.

"There are no 'lines' in the south any longer," Cameron told him. "John Henry gained control of the Sky Net machines west of here from Volgograd to Georgia. They are headed for Iran to combat Sky Net there and to the north to reduce the Sky Net presence north of us. John Henry also reports there is a eighty nine percent chance that this city has a Sky Net factory. We must find it so it can be destroyed."

Turning to him, Cameron added, "Send out patrols of four. They are to keep to cover as much as possible, no weapons fire unless fired on. A pair of heavy H/K tanks are coming to help destroy anything we find. Patrols are to report only, no engaging unless they have no choice."

Pointing outside, the Major said, "That rain is radioactive! You want to send my people out in it?"

"We will not find a factory staying inside this warehouse. The rain will also help mask the presence of our patrols from Sky Net's infrared sensors. Make your troops as safe as possible and try to keep them dry, but we need them outside searching."

The major clenched his jaw, turned and stormed over to the vehicles, calling everyone together.

.

One thing Allison was glad of was the women soldiers were loosing their nervousness around her. A pair of blonds Allison thought might be sisters invited her to share the storage racks they had turned into makeshift bunk beds with her. Lenora and Larisa had introduced themselves, Lenora pointing to each 'bunk' and from the bottom up, stated, "Lenora, Larisa, Allison."

OK, so Allison got the top rack.

While they were rolling out their bedding, the Major called everyone together and informed them they were going out on patrol. Allison couldn't make out what he was saying as he pointed to areas on the hand drawn city map.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Larisa motioned to herself, Lenora and Allison, and pointed to the door as she spoke. "I'm with you two," Allison said, motioning to them.

The radiation suits were broken out. For the patrols the uniform was a radiation suit covered by a raincoat. None of the suits were Allison's size so she just put a raincoat on. Lenora tried to give her a rifle. Allison waved her off. She didn't need a rifle.

"Allison, do you know what you're doing?" Cameron asked as she came up.

"Going outside. On a patrol, I think," Allison replied.

"You're going out to look for a Sky Net factory. There are a pair of heavy H/K tanks coming, I'll be controlling them," Cameron explained. "Anything else out there is not under my control. Be careful and radio in anything you find. You're not out there to destroy unless you have to. That's the job of those H/K tanks. Understand?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Good luck, and do your best to keep under cover."

"I will Mom."

Cameron spoke briefly to Lenora and Larisa, then walked to the command vehicle.

.

The search area Allison and her group was assigned to was in the northeast section of the city.

Walking warily along the side of building as they went, the Sargent led Allison, Lenora and Larisa to look in windows and doorways for movement. Allison kept watch ahead, Lenora guarded behind them.

Stepping along and listening closely, Allison strained to hear something else besides the rain and the footsteps of the three with her. Her vision was limited due to the rain. Her infrared was grayed out and in the visual spectrum, she could barely see across the street through the downpour. She swore she couldn't hear much farther than that due to loud 'sizzling steak' sound of the rain.

Coming to an intersection, Allison peeked her head around the corner to study the side street. Half a block down, a shape moved into a building. She pulled back and jerked in the Sargent's sleeve. First she pointed around the corner, then made a walking motion with her fingers. He motioned for her to lead.

He then motioned for Lenore and Larisa to take the other side of the street.

Allison crept down the side street, watching the doorway she'd seen motion at and listening as hard as she could. Coming to the open doorway that had the door lying broken on the floor, she heard a noise. It was soft sound, wood on wood like someone had closed a cupboard door. She held her hand up to motion the Sargent to wait inside the entrance.

The inside was dark, but now her infrared was clear. She was in an apartment building. The stairs were dry, so was the hallway before her. Wet footprints did go into the apartment on her left. The door was ajar. Quietly, Allison slipped inside. She followed the prints that stopped in the middle of the floor.

Allison noted heat outlining a square box shape on the floor. Fading heat marks were near this side of the trap door. She felt around and found a notch. Backing off a bit, she used her invisible arms to lift the trap door. Weak light came from the hole as the hatch lifted. She heard a gasp, and the sound of scrambling. She got closer to see a narrow wooden stairway going down into a basement.

"Hello?" she called.

No answer.

Allison went and got the Sargent, and showed him the open trap door. His light stabbed her open pupils as he turned if on the get a better look. He then called Lenora and Larisa into the apartment. He sent Larisa down the stairs first, gun light on as she searched her surroundings. He waved them down.

Last in line, Allison closed the trap door behind them.

Lit by a single oil lamp, the basement was large. Several make shift beds were grouped together with blankets. A small table still bore a few cups and some open canned food. In one stone wall a hole had been dug. A corner where carpet was piled up, Allison noted heat within. From the shape, it looked like someone was curled up, hiding. Allison got the Sargent's attention, pointed and lifted up the carpets with her Arms.

The figure underneath stared at them with wide eyes. The nightgown the woman wore was dirty and flecked with blood. Only a few tufts of hair remained on the woman's head. She was bone thin, her skin was mottled, and when she cried out weakly, only a few teeth showed.

She was dying from radiation poisoning.

Lenora rushed over to the woman with a pained cry. Allison helped Lenora get the wretched woman back onto a bed. Lenora and the Sargent whispered between themselves. The Sargent dug into a first aide kit and produced a syringe. Kneeling beside the woman, he spoke softly to her and petted her bare head. Tears in her eyes, she gave him a nod. He injected her.

Sobbing from the horror of what happened to the poor woman, Allison noted two heads appear from the hole in the wall. Larisa went over and coaxed them out. Two boys came out, both suffered from radiation sickness, though not as bad as the woman had. They could still stand upright and talk to Larisa.

Allison didn't understand what the Sargent said, but by his motions, she understood he was sending Larisa back to the warehouse with the boys. The boys each hugged the dying woman, donned their ragged raincoats, and left with Larisa.

The Sargent, looking hollow-eyed, then made Allison and Lenore go back up. Last one out, he blew out the lamp, came up and shut the trap door. Allison understood, he'd overdosed the woman with painkiller to put her out of her misery. Seeing her tears, he patted Allison on the back, then motioned for her to go on. They could not properly take care of the woman once she passed, they had a factory to find.


	24. Chapter 24

CH 24

They found it. Allison squatted beside the second story widows of an office building, staying out of sight with Larisa and Lenora as the Sargent radioed in the position of the factory they discovered down the side street. Three blocks down, Allison could see the lights from here. Now that the rain had let up, she could make out much of the building and the former parking lot that now was filled with machines being readied to leave.

Hearing a rumble coming from down the street, Allison peeked up to see the pair of Heavy H/K tanks rolling their way. She pointed. The Sargent looked and reported they had arrived.

Watching the tanks roll towards them, Allison got a strange feeling. She looked up into the sky where this feeling was coming from. High above, a powerful presence was coming down fast. The last time she'd felt anything like this, was when she'd met Lucy. By the feel though, this was not Lucy. It was something different.

Allison go up and looked out the window and watched a huge shape come straight down on the rear tank. With the weather, all she could tell was it was alive and had wings and four paws it used to drive the tank partway into the ground. The tank squashed down from the impact. The building she was in shook from the resulting earthquake. As the building shook, cracks appeared in the walls and pieces of ceiling came down.

The women soldiers screamed.

Across the open area of the floor they were on, Allison could see windows. She wrapped a mind arm around her three patrol mates and vaulted for the windows, fearing the building was going to collapse. Racing for the windows, larger pieces of ceiling fell. Allison smashed a hole in the wall and dragged her three patrol members with her outside.

The building she'd just left was collapsing, as was the one she was facing. Ground level wasn't safe. Shooting four Arms down to push herself and her patrol members in the air, she waited until the swaying and rumbling buildings collapsed before she lowered them to the ground.

It was then she saw the second tank tumbling through the air in an arc at the factory. The giant beast was flying after it.

Standing atop of a chunk of rubble, Allison motioned for her patrol mates to stay down. She didn't know what that beast was, but concluded it was helping Sky Net since it had destroyed the tanks her mother had sent. Allison shot after it, using her propeller arms for extra speed. It was then she saw H/K's in the air over her. She so wanted to deal with that beast but didn't want H/K's shooting at her from above. Allison turned skyward to battle the H/K's.

The H/K's noticed her, and soon she was in a dog fight with them. She smashed two, then another four came at her. As she was fighting them, she heard rumblings and explosions on the ground. The last pair tried to avoid her to head for the factory. She was faster and took them both out. She finally got a good look at the factory.

The factory building looked like it was smashed in by a giant hammer. There were fires in the rubble and the few machines left were being attacked by the beast. Confused, she didn't know what was going on. First it destroyed her mother's tanks, then it attacked Sky Net? Seeing a large spider machine come up behind the beast, she flew fast and low to slice the legs off one side of it. She grabbed two of the legs on the other side and picked it up to slam it down hard onto the mass of wrecked machines. The thing sparked, twitched and lay still.

Landing not far away from the giant beast that was eyeing her, she yelled, "Who's side are you on?"

The beast raised an eyebrow at her. "Where's your mother?" it asked in a deep resonant voice.

"Answer my question first," Allison yelled, "Who's side are you on?"

The beast let out a snort. "Since I just destroyed these machines, who's side do you THINK I'm on?" it asked in a growl.

"I don't know since you also destroyed my mother's tanks before they could attack this factory, and you almost killed three humans while doing so! I saved them from YOUR recklessness!" Allison fired back.

The rain was beginning to irritate her, so Allison blocked it with a shield over her head.

"I see," the beast mulled in it's deep tone. "Your mother is Lucy."

"Lucy is not my mother, she's a friend of my mother, you big DUMMY!" Allison snapped. "And what does that have to do with why you tried to kill people and ruined our tanks?"

"You are in involved with Sky Net?" it asked in warning.

"HOW STUPID ARE YOU?" Allison raged. "I JUST TOLD YOU, my mother programmed those tanks to get rid of this factory! We had it all planned out, then you come and bust things up at random, trying to get more people killed!"

"Little girls should mind their manners," the beast growled.

"And BIG DUMMIES should let people who KNOW what they are doing take care of things like this, NOT come and screw it up!" Allison retorted.

"Where's your mother!" the beast barked.

"I'm not telling you, you ... over-grown hound dog!"

The beast roared and grabbed at her. It was fast, but Allison's mind was faster. She shifted her shield and instead of grabbing her, his swiping paw knocked her away. Allison shot herself into the air.

"GO AWAY BEFORE I HURT YOU!" she screamed, then flew off to see how her patrol mates were doing.

Flying to the last place she'd seen them, she noted they had started picking their way through the rubble. She landed in front of them, put a rain shield over them then tossed pieces of building to the sides so they could walk on even ground.

The Sargent beamed Allison a smile of relief, as did Lenore and Larisa. They didn't go far when Allison noted the beast above them.

"What's up with that thing?" Allison said in frustration as she tossed pieces of building out of their way. The beast landed in front of them, making the ground tremble. All three of her patrol mates raised their guns at it in fear. Quickly, Allison turned to them and waved for them to lower their weapons. She then spun back to face the creature.

"What is your name, child?" the beast asked.

Seeing he was right in their path, Allison wailed, "Why don't you go away and leave us alone?"

"I want to know who sent a child out into battle," the beast stated.

"I did!" Allison stated, pointing at herself. "Dad didn't like the idea, and Mom only agreed because she was coming with me. What business is it of yours, anyway?"

"Such a small child as yourself should not be fighting battles!"

"Guess what, you giant bulldog! I'm the only one who CAN destroy Sky Net!" Allison snapped back.

"You should be at home, in school!"

Her anger building, Allison yelled, "I _was_ in school, you ... mutated moron! Guess what? Sky Net destroyed my school and killed many of my friends! It killed all of Byron's family and if I hadn't stopped it then, many more people would have died just like here!" Panting and red-eyed from her building rage, tears came to Allison's eyes as she wailed, "People are dying all around me because of Sky Net, the ones who survived are hurt and their lives ruined. I'm NOT going to stand by and watch everyone else die! I will destroy Sky Net, so either help me, fight me, or better yet, just GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"You don't want to kill me?" the beast asked.

"I don't even know you, except that you're a big dummy who ... who's messing things up for us, so MOVE!" Allison yelled, then continued throwing debris out of the way so her patrol could keep going. She swore if that thing didn't move, she was going to throw it out of the way too!

The beast backed up. As it did, it used it's huge front paws to clear the street of large debris. Allison followed, wondering why it was helping her now. She puzzled on this for a block, then remembered this thing wanted to see her mother, and it sounded angry asking about her. Right, Allison was not going to let this thing anywhere near her mother.

Allison deliberately took a wrong turn after they were clear of the the debris. The Sargent got her attention and motioned in the right direction to get back to their vehicles. She motioned to his radio. He gave it to her.

Allison keyed the radio. "Hey, Mom? This is Allison. We got some giant winged dog following us. It's unpredictable. I'm going to lead it away from us."

"Allison, keep your radio keyed and ask it's name."

Allison did. "Hey, dog-thing! My name is Allison, what's yours?" she yelled up at it.

Frowning at her, it said, "My name is Apollo, and I am a gargoyle, not a dog thing!" he said indignantly.

"Did you get that, Mom?" Allison asked.

"Allison, give the radio back to the Sargent. Lead Apollo away for the time it takes your team to return, then get back here as fast as you can move. Do not let Apollo follow you."

Allison handed the Sargent the radio back and walk towards the Apollo dog. To cover what she was going to do, she told him, "My team has to go eat. Come on, there's something I want to show you."

"Lead on," Apollo said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Holding her rain shield over her head, Allison strode on with Apollo following. She mentally kept track of where she was as she headed south for the large lake.

"Who are your parents?" Apollo asked.

Allison mussed and said, "I'm an orphan."

"Didn't you just talk to your mother?"

Darn, he heard that! "Ahh, yeah. My ... foster mother." she said, correcting herself.

"You did mention your father not wanting you to come here," Apollo reminded her.

"My foster Dad." Allison said firmly.

"Right," Apollo said. "So, where were you born?"

"I don't know, I was a baby then. I don't remember."

Apollo barked out a laugh. "Fine, where did you grow up?"

"Why do you care?" Allison asked, getting irritated at him.

"I'm just curious where your patents met Lucy. You DO know Lucy is a homicidal maniac," Apollo offered.

Allison spun and glared at him. "She is not! I met Lucy. Yeah, she's strong and a little strange, but she's never done anything bad to us! She offered me chance to go to school!"

"Of course, she's your mother," Apollo said, watching her closely.

"She is not! Mom and Dad explained that to me! Lucy is only a doner so Mom could have me!" Allison shot back.

Sporting a grin, Apollo said, "You certainly know a lot about your parents for being an orphan."

Allison stared at him, flushing as she realized he'd caught her lying. "Ohhh!" she whined in frustration and turned to stomp away with a snap of, "Let's just go!"

Mentally timing their return, Allison concluded her team was back at the hangers now. She could see the lake. At the last intersection before they got to the lake, she rushed off to the left, shooting herself away with her arms, then leaping into the air to fly low. She took another corner, then another. Flying as fast as she could go, she stayed low between to buildings as she zig zagged though the ruined city.

The 'feel' of Apollo faded. Satisfied she'd lost him, she flew for the hangers. She also noticed something else. In her path was someone else. The feel of this one was much weaker. Slowing as she came upon the presence, she saw a blond haired man huddled in a doorway, wearing nothing but a sheet wrapped around him. All he had for shoes was a pair of sandals.

Allison landed by him. He looked to be in much better shape than the other people she'd found. His blank face told her he was in trouble though. "Hey, are you hungry?" she asked.

He nodded.

Bringing up her rain shield, she extended it over him and offered him her hand. "Come on, I'll get you someplace where you can eat and get some good clothes, OK?" she asked gently.

He took her hand with a thankful nod and smile.

Leading the man along at a walk, Allison kept searching for signs of the big beast that was turning out to be smarter that she thought it was. She walked all the way back to the hangers and didn't see or sense it anywhere. The rain was all but stopped, but she kept her shield up, covering them both as she led the man by the hand.

.

Cameron was having the survivors of the city the patrols had found treated as much as they could, then loaded into the armored transports. Talking with the Major, they were sure there had to be more people here than what they had found so far.

Their mission was changing. Since the factory was destroyed, they were now involved with search and rescue. Unfortunately, Allison had found Apollo, which meant she and Cameron had to move on before trouble started. She well remembered Apollo's combativeness, even with his own family.

Cameron was talking with the Major about sending the injured back when the single side door to the hanger opened.

"Mom! I found another guy who needs help!" Allison announced.

Cameron turned to see Allison leading Apollo in, holding his hand. She went over to her daughter. Sparing a glance at Apollo, she asked Allison, "I thought you were suppose to loose him. Why did you bring him back here?"

Allison frowned at her. "Mom, I did loose the big dog. I fly all around and got away from him. This guy was sitting in a doorway looking sad."

"THAT is Apollo," Cameron said firmly.

Allison looked back at the man who was grinning at her. "It can't be!" she exclaimed.

Apollo nodded to Cameron and said, "You have a very good daughter here. Your name is Cameron, if I remember correctly."

"Yes. What do you want, Apollo?" Cameron asked tonelessly.

"That was your dog?" Allison asked, looking at Apollo in confusion.

His smile tightening, Apollo explained, "As I told you, Child. I am a gargoyle, not a dog. I can also take human form."

"Huh?"

"Allison," Cameron said to her. "I told you that you are part yokai like Lucy, correct? Apollo is full yokai. He can change his form and mass. This man is the 'giant dog' that you found."

Allison jerked her hand out of Apollos'. Glaring at him, she said, "You are really tricky!"

Apollo threw his head back and laughed. "Yes child, I am tricky," he admitted.

"And my name's Allison, not child!" Allison stated angrily.

"Back to the point. Apollo, why are you here?" Cameron asked sternly.

Apollo's face melted into a serious look. "Same as you. I came to get rid of this Sky Net. I would strongly ask you not subject your daughter to any more combat. She is a child and should be at home, safe."

"Impossible," Cameron stated. "Allison refuses to go home until Sky Net is destroyed. I have nothing to convince her we will take care of it and unless someone else agrees to take over her job, there is no one else that can do what she does."

"I will take her place," Apollo stated.

"You have proven yourself untrustworthy," Cameron replied. "I cannot afford to rely on you. I need people I can trust."

Anger etching his face, Apollo took a step towards Cameron, and was frozen in place, his arms locked to his sides.

"You are not going to hurt my mother!" Allison said in a growl.

"Do not toy with me, Child," Apollo warned.

"Apollo, there is something you need to understand," Cameron said firmly. "Allison is my child. You do know what I am?"

"You're a machine," Apollo grated.

"Yes, a machine build to resemble humans. I was made to be faster, stronger, smarter, and invulnerable to the smaller human weapons," Cameron agreed. "Lucy gave me the ability to have children. Allison is like me in many ways, she is also like Lucy. Allison's skeletal structure is like mine, Coltan. Her nerves, muscles and brain are organic, but with the same enhancements as I have. Imagine if you will, a machine version of Lucy that is stronger, faster and much more powerful than Lucy herself. That is Allison. Before you do something regrettable in this room full of humans, perhaps you should think about that."

Apollo cast Cameron a long look, then shifted it to Allison. He understood. Allison was a terminator version of Lucy. Shifting his gaze back to Cameron, he said, "I do not condone endangering small children."

"No one is asking you to. Allison has decided it is her place to destroy Sky Net. I and many others are doing our best to see her to her goal. The sooner Allison accomplishes her mission, the sooner I can get her home where she belongs. Allison will destroy Sky Net with, or without our help. I cannot leave my daughter here on her own, so I am helping her. What will you do?"

Apollo nodded once and said, "I see. She is going after Sky Net, and you can't stop her. Fine. I insist that I join you. I too want to see Sky Net permanently destroyed. I also want to ensure no harm comes to Allison. I would recommend another course of action, however."

"Mom, can we trust him?" Allison asked.

"For now. Release him, I want to hear his plan."

.

"We have Sky Net isolated to Asia and Asia minor," John Henry told John Connor. "We also have control of southern India. All the other Sky Net communication towers around the world are now under our control. I do fear Sky Net has discovered this. A control tower in Burma was attacked and destroyed. It may also have discovered many of the ruses I have been creating."

"It had to happen eventually," John Connor mussed as he looked at John Henry's computer screens. On one, the 'Sky Net' screen, showed Sky Net in control of most of the world. On another, it showed the true situation, Sky Net being reduced to the eastern part of Russia, China, and the countries just south of China. "The ruse worked and gave us the time we need. The attack on Vladivostok will be a complete surprise. You have those hydrobots and Craken ready?"

"Yes. They are on their way to the south China sea. When meeting another machine, they will emit an IFF signal. If the proper IFF signal is not returned, they will attack. Given the number of units, and the area of the northern part of the South China sea, it will take three weeks to make the area safe for shipping."

"Very good, John Henry. You've performed miracles for us," John said sincerely. "Any luck on finding the location of Sky Net?"

"I am reducing the area it can be housed in," John Henry replied. "Cameron and Allison are almost into China. When they reach the east coast, dividing the area Sky Net now controls, I will be able to reduce the possible area in half."

"Process of elimination," John agreed.

"Yes. And I will be able to take control over the area where Sky net is not."

Studying the screen, John said, "I'm sure it's in the north. More radiation, colder and less chance of encountering humans. Sky Net wants to insulate itself from human presence."

Tipping his head, John Henry said, "That is a logical assumption. Once you attack Eastern Russia, we should know for sure. I have taken control of two satellites. May I suggest your forces destroy any communication towers they find. If Sky Net is near that area, it will move and cause either a rush of communications, or a non-military move away from the conflict area."

"The we'll know right where it is," John said with a grin. "I'll keep a strike force ready. If Sky Net moves, we'll have it."

.

The hanger Cameron and her forces had originally sought shelter in was now a medical post with several ambulances and a medical team inside. Three armed personnel carriers remained, the rest had been sent back with the original troops and the sick they had found. Another patrol came in with loaded stretchers of people they had found eeking out an existence in a sewer line. People were treated and loaded into ambulances to be taken back to the last fairly radiation-free zone the army had found.

On a table in the hangers, Cameron had an Asian map spread out. Apollo and Allison bracketed her as she explained their plans.

"The GPS system is still in operation. Our goal is to cut Sky Net's area of control in half by taking over it's communication towers. Drones are searching for the towers. When they find one, they mark it's position for us. Apollo will take us directly to each tower. We take control, go to the next one. During rest periods, we make a shelter and lie low until we go to the next one. Minimal time being exposed, and less danger from counter attacks by Sky Net."

"Ahh, Mom?" Allison asked. "Won't Sky Net see us?"

"No," Apollo said firmly. "We fly from one place to another under invisibility."

"As long as we stay within the range of the last tower we take control of, I can communicate with John Henry and the drones," Cameron explained. "John Henry has warned me that Sky Net may know we are taking over it's towers, so we have to be careful of traps and ambushes."

Studying the map, Allison said in a mussing tone, "Hey mom? If I was Sky Net, I would figure that a human attack would be aiming for a city so to keep myself safe, I'd stay away from the cities, but someplace where I'd be near the center of the area I had control of."

Cameron eyed her daughter and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"That with the current state of affairs, Sky Net will not be anywhere near the coast. If it was me, I'd be in Tibet or Mongolia. Once we get near the coast, we should go north and come back west above these places. If we can do it fast enough, we will greatly reduce Sky Net's area of control," Allison said.

"How can you be sure of that?" Apollo asked. "Sky Net could also be hiding on an island."

"Could be, but I think that would make it hard for Sky Net to escape. Sky Net came to Asia to avoid us. It must know we can destroy it if we find it. It's going to want to keep an escape route open," Allison concluded.

Casting a questioning look at Cameron, Apollo said, "You aren't going to trust the word of a nine year old."

"Allison is eight, and she hasn't been wrong yet," Cameron stated. "But we will go all the way the coast and split the possibilities in half. That will tell us if we should go north or south."

.

The data Sky Net was receiving was becoming more questionable. While southern India was reporting everything was normal and the western armies were reporting victories, other reports were showing many destroyed machines in these same areas and requests for reinforcement while the newest areas of Africa and South America were reporting reinforcements were being sent. The North American forces reported they had control and were sending assistance.

Shifting through the chaotic and conflicting reports, Sky Net send an anti virus program through it's communications network. No viruses were found.

A communications station at the western edge of China reported an attack. Several minutes later, it reported the attack failed and the enemy was destroyed.

Searching back through the data, Sky Net found that other stations had reported very similar attacks that had failed. It also found many of these attacks were in a line, beginning at where the western front had been. It knew enemy AI's were active. It also knew Allison Connor had been in that area. Sky Net immediately changed it's codes.

Studying the reports of the attacks, it appeared humans were duplicating Sky Net machines. For the humans to engineer their own machines identical to Sky Net's on such a large scale in so little time was not logical. That meant they were taking over it's own machines. Although that did not seem possible, it was the only logical answer. With the conflicting reports coming from different communication stations, it had to assume those were being taken over as well. Since no digital attacks had been made, Sky Net concluded someone, possibly Allison Connor, was physically attacking communications centers to go inside and reconfigure the station to take control of nearby units.

By the town of Yoki in the north of the Takia Maken desert in Tibet, was the communications hub that was in the direct path of the tower attacks. This hub was defended as well any other. It was also no longer needed and was expendable. Sky Net diverted forces not to defend that hub, but to launch a massive attack on it as soon as the hub reported an attack. It used every long range artillery unit in the area to target the communications hub.

It then responded to an intense artillery attack against Vladivostok, moving units away from the danger area to leave only enough to discover if the humans were indeed planning an invasion.


	25. Chapter 25

CH 25

In the dark skies over Tibet, the gargoyle flew along, flapping his wings at a steady pace. On his back, protected by a shield Allison was holding up over them, Cameron watched the GPS display while Allison held onto the bags of food and the large jug of water they'd brought.

Again, Allison shifted position to find a better way to sit on the bumpy ridge on Apollo's back.

Apollo looked back and asked, "Will you please sit still?"

Allison replied with a sigh of, "Are we there yet?"

"Ten miles to go," Cameron replied.

Allison shifted again. Apollo roared, "Sit still!"

Frowning, Allison called, "I can't help it, you're all bumpy!"

"Kids," Apollo grumbled.

"Allison, come sit on my lap," Cameron told her.

Irritated at her discomfort, Allison stomped her way up to her mother and settled down into her lap. Cameron shifted the GPS to keep watching it as Allison sat. Looking off into the distance, she announced, "Apollo, on the horizon, can you see that heat spot five degrees to your right?"

"The heat spot in front of me?"

"Yes, head for that. That is the generating plant for the tower and the area."

"We should destroy that also," Apollo stated.

"That plant does not matter, the communications hub is our target," Cameron replied.

As they approached, Allison scanned the sky around them. "No H/K's?" she asked.

Cameron zoomed in on their target she could now see and said, "Only two terminators on the grounds. That is not sufficient for a defensive force for such an installation."

"It might be a trap," Apollo noted. "Allison, can you stay up here with your mother?"

"Yeah," Allison said, curious. "Why?"

"I'll go down and take out those terminators and get in the building. When I find the control room and no trap is sprung,, I'll come back outside and wave you down," Apollo explained.

"And if there is a trap?" Allison asked.

"You won't be caught in it."

"But you will be," Allison pointed out.

"I can take it," Apollo said firmly.

Allison reconfigured her shield smaller, just above her and her mother, then wrapped one mind arm around her mother and brought out her propeller arms. Knowing the extra weight, she brought out four. "OK, ready when you are!" she announced.

Apollo dove down. Allison lifted her mother and their belongings up to stay high above. They watched Apollo pounce on one terminator, then the other. He shrunk down to human size and went inside.

In the distance, the thunder of artillery sounded out. "It IS a trap!" Allison announced. Apollo was still inside as Allison felt the rounds coming. There were too many, coming from too many directions for her to stop. If she went down to help Apollo, her mother would be in danger. "Incoming artillery fire!" Allison warned in a yell. She was so far up, she doubted Apollo could hear her.

The shells came in like rain, obliterating the site. The tower folded and crashed to the ground. Wincing as a hundred shells pounded the place into churning rubble, Allison whispered, "Ouuuuch."

"Allison, are you hurt?" Cameron asked.

"No, I was 'ouching' for Apollo. That has to hurt."

Once the rain of projectiles stopped and the flying debris settled back to the ground, there was nothing left of the communications station.

"Allison, take me down there," Cameron told her.

Allison did, keeping her ears and sensors open for any other incoming rounds.

Other than bomb craters and debris sticking up, the area was flattened. They had been watching from above, and had a hard time finding where the building used to be standing. Landing, Allison kept her arms out for a fast escape.

"Apollo, are you still alive?" Allison yelled at the rubble.

"He did what he could, and sacrificed himself for us," Cameron stated.

"No, I still feel him, I just can't find him," Allison mussed as she looked around. Sensing him in one direction, Allison walked that way. She focused on a mound of rubble, and a hand poked up out of it. Reaching out with a mind arm, Allison pulled. Apollo came out. He was naked and bloodied. His wounds healed as she watched, wide-eyed. She'd never seen a naked man before.

"What's those things between his legs?" Allison asked.

Apollo shifted into gargoyle form. "Thank you for assisting me, Allison," he said.

Allison let out a giggle and said, "Wow! You survived that!"

"Yes, but you might not. That's why I told you to wait up there," Apollo said firmly.

Allison nodded, and asked, "Why do you have a finger and a sack thing between your legs?"

Apollo stared at her briefly, then turned around. "OK, get back on, we still have many more to do."

"It is pointless to take them over now," Cameron said. "Destroying this station means we won't be able to link to any others further east."

"We can still destroy them," Apollo countered. "And we have to get up off the ground before Sky Net attacks again."

"We go north, Mom," Allison said, giving up on pondering why Apollo would have a finger down there in such an odd place. "We backtrack one tower, then continue on to maintain the link."

Cameron consulted her GPS. "There is a station fifty miles to the northwest." She then pointed and added, "That way," for Apollo's benefit.

They got on and Apollo took to the air. Cameron had Allison sit in her lap.

.

John Connor had planned the invasion of eastern Russia taking into consideration Byron's suggestion. After the pre-invasion bombardment of the city, he had ordered one group under General Wallis to attack directly into the city to find and destroy factories. Twenty miles to the south, General Matsumoto landed his paratroopers, gliders and VTOL craft. Twenty miles to the north, General Rogers landed his attack forces. On the way to help them was every warship the Japanese could scrape up along with forty supply ships, split between the three forces. General Matsumoto and General Rogers were to envelope the city to keep any other Sky Net forces from reinforcing whatever they had inside the city.

John's original plan was two forces to either side of the city to attack in a classic pincer. John Henry and Bryan concluded that Sky Net would probably put more the bulk of it's forces outside the city to keep them from being bombed, then attack when the human troops arrived. Byron suggested one force to go straight into the city just before the other two forces landed on either side of the city to fool Sky Net.

While his troops were still making their way to the ground, General Matsumoto's drones and attack aircraft flew right into an air base filled with H/K's in the south and got caught up into a huge furball right over the base. General Wallis' forces landed basically unopposed at the docks in the city, save for a few terminators. General Rogers' aircraft found a large collection of H/K tanks and mini-Stugs to the north, and attached the ground machines, all but destroying them at will.

"Way to go, Bryan," John mussed as he listened to the reports and watched the action unfold on his digital map. Apparently, Sky Net had pulled it's forces back to let them land, then come back in to crush them from all sides. The kid had called it perfectly.

Neither the north or the south attacks went very far. They got bogged down with Sky Net machines counter attacking in force. In the city, General Wallis was taking ground nearly unopposed and swept deep inland. He got far enough inland that John send a message to him to break south and come at the southern Sky Net forces from behind. General Wallis hit resistance from the west, Sky Net's farthest inland forces. It had turned into a fight near the outskirts of the city, but it wasn't the crushing counter-blow Sky Net had planned for.

General Matsumoto had lost all his attack aircraft, but not encountering any H/K's General Rogers sent half of his planes and drones to support General Matsumoto. While the city itself was won, and air combat only in the south, John watched as the lines of combat slowly drove inland. Casualties were heavy, but his armies were also dealing massive blows to Sky Net's split up forces. Attacks from behind and flanking attacks made the battle lines surge and retreat, then surge farther from the shore.

That was one thing John was glad of. Sky Net had yet to realize the battle was lost, and kept pouring everything it had onto the front line until it had nothing left. Seven hours after landing, the break came and the lines expanded into a large semi-circle fifty miles outside Vladivostok. His generals were smart, they stopped and dug in to resupply and brace themselves for a Sky Net counter attack. Reinforcements and supplies were at the shore now and unloading. In the area, Sky Net had nothing left to attack with.

With that battle won, John instructed his Generals to focus on finding and destroying Sky Net communications first, and pushing into China second. If the communications were taken out, Sky Net would be severely hampered with reacting to their advance.

.

At the next communication tower, Apollo again dove in first and got inside the buildings. This time, there was no artillery barrage. Apollo shifted back to Gargoyle form and waved. Allison brought Cameron down. Allison stayed outside to keep watch with Apollo. Cameron went into the control room and reconfigured control over to John Henry.

"We'll stop here for the night," Cameron told Apollo when she came back out.

"Why here?" Apollo asked.

"There are no Sky Net machines, and Allison needs rest. I know the signs when she is getting tired. She's also hungry," Cameron stated.

"Mom. I can do one more," Allison complained.

"And if we run into trouble there?" Cameron asked.

Allison thought for a moment. She was getting a bit tired from using her Arms all day long and she didn't want to pass out from overexerting herself again. "I am a little tired," she agreed with a huff.

They went back inside. Since there was no bunk room, Cameron found a way into the attic and spread out Allison's bedroll. Apollo didn't have anything to wear so he opted to stay outside in gargoyle form.

After she ate, Allison found there was no bathroom either.

"Go outside and dig a hole," Cameron told her.

She did, walking around to the opposite side of the building Apollo was sitting down in front of, watching out at the dreary landscape. When she was done, Allison walked back around to look up at Apollo.

"Apollo, I have a question," Allison asked, and pointed at his groin. "Why do you have that finger way down there?"

"What?" Apollo asked, shifting his gaze to look down at her.

"That finger between your legs. Why is it all the way down there? I tried to think of what it might be for, and other than scratching your butt, I can't think of anything," Allison said innocently.

Apollo let out a huff and looked off into the distance.

"It's OK if you're like a mutant or something," Allison assured him.

"I'm not a mutant!" Apollo grated as he glared at her.

"So, why won't you tell me?"

Apollo let out a grumble and looked away. "Ask your mother," he replied.

"She doesn't have one. How would she know?"

"She knows, believe me."

"Why won't you tell me?"

Apollo shifted in place, and glanced down at her. "Because your parents are the ones who should tell you about thinks like that," he said in a huff.

"Do other people have fingers down there?"

Apollo shifted again, not feeling comfortable about this topic. "Look, Allison, you mother is the one who should explain things to you. Not me."

"But it's your finger," Allison countered.

"ALL guys have one, OK?" Apollo said in an irritated tone.

"OK, but what good is it?" Allison pressed.

"Ask. Your. Mother."

"Fine, don't tell me!" Allison snapped and went back inside.

Allison found her Mother in the control room busy reworking some wiring. Not wanting to bother her, she went up into the attic and puzzled about what that finger might be for. If all guys had one, that meant Byron had one too. She'd never seen him use it. It had to be for something special, she just couldn't figure out what that use could be. Allison liked solving mysteries, so she decided she would try to solve this one on her own.

.

Sky Net reconfigured it's machines parameters. It had noticed before attacking, the human controlled machines would give off a signal. It programmed it's machines to attack anything giving off that signal. This stabilized the situation. The same problem was in the South China sea. The factories it had in Korea that made the sea machines now was adding this program to everything coming off the production lines, as was every factory in China. Instead of controlling it's armies via it's communication network that was now breaking down, it programmed in instructions and had the communications set to report only. It wasn't as efficient as two way communications, but the humans could not take the new machines over.

Sky Net also discovered another disturbing fact. The line of towers that were mis-communicating was coming directly at it and not closing around a section of land mass like it had computed the humans would do to 'get land back'. The humans were changing their tactics. It had seen nothing of Allison Connor. Sky Net feared she was the one messing up communications, and since she survived the trap to destroy her, it had no knowledge or theory of what it would take to stop this pint sized monster.

To protect itself, Sky Net recalled the mini-drones to keep a close watch in the area over itself, and sent the newest reinforcements to itself, instead of Russia's east coast where the humans had now gained control of some land. The first T-900 series it made, complete with human looking skin, it modified as a get-away vehicle for itself, should the humans get too close. It also planned an escape route to the north.

.

In the morning Allison climbed down out of her attic bedroom to find Apollo in the control room with her mother. He was in human form and wearing a skirt type wrap around his hips and thighs. "Morning," Allison said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning, Allison," Apollo said from his seat by Cameron.

Cameron's attention was on a couple monitors screens showing rolling lines of code. "Allison, get ready to fight," she said tonelessly.

"I'm ready, what's up?" Allison asked.

"Sky Net units are moving from our south in a northeast direction. They will pass within two miles of us," Cameron said in a monotone voice. "All the units are new, John Henry can't gain control of them."

"Ground only, or air too?" Allison asked.

"Ground units. Terminators, transports and H/K tanks,"

"Then I'll attack them from behind," Allison said with a shrug. "Mr. Finger there can drop down on them from above towards the middle. We'll roll the rear part up between us, then move to the sides to flank and crunch the rest after we make the others junk."

Apollo raised an eyebrow at Allison and asked, "Mr. Finger?"

"No," Cameron stated. "I got a transmission from John's armies, other units are heading inland. We wait until your father says to go. Not before."

"Why wait until then?" Allison asked.

"Myself and John Henry believe Sky Net is calling units to itself. John is standing by for a coordinated artillery attack by rail gun once the destination of all these units is found," Cameron explained.

"Won't that be many more units to fight us all at once?" Allison asked.

"Fighting them now will let Sky Net know where we are, and possibly alert it we know where those units are going. We stay inside and do nothing until we're called for," Cameron told her.

"Hokay," Allison said with a sigh. Want some breakfast, Mom?"

"No, but thank you for asking," Cameron told her.

"How about you, Mr. Finger?"

"My name is Apollo, NOT Mr. Finger," Apollo said firmly.

Cameron glanced back at Allison and said, "Allison, don't poke the bear."

"What does that mean?" Apollo asked, casting Cameron a hard eye.

"You either, we need to keep this station intact for a while," Cameron told him.

In the back of the control room, Allison got out the MRE's and noted they only had eight left. Somewhere, they had lost a few. "Hey, Mom? We have eight meal packs left. That's only two days worth if me and ... Apollo," she said, resisting the urge to call him 'Mr. Finger'. "Eat at a normal rate. Maybe we should skip breakfast."

"No," Cameron said firmly. "Split one between you."

Apollo waved a hand at Allison and said, "I'll be fine. You go ahead."

"That's not fair," Allison told him with a frown.

"I'll be fine. You need it more than I do. Go ahead," Apollo insisted.

"He's right, Allison," Cameron said as she watched the digital information scrolling down two monitor screens. "You are still growing. Don't forget your nutrients."

Allison frowned at the food package. "I feel guilty eating by myself," she said in a huff. "I'll wait."

"Allison, listen to your mother. You need to keep up your strength," Apollo said firmly.

Hearing an engine and the rattle of tracks outside, all three froze in place. Cameron quickly entered a message to John Henry.

"They're here," Allison sang quietly. Apollo shushed her as he listened.

Allison tipped her head slightly and listened closely also. "Three H/K tanks ... ten sets of feet ... sounds like weapons being readied to fire."

Cameron shot up and said, "We're leaving for the next station to the north. Apollo, Allison, we need to take those units out now!"

"You got it, Mom!" Allison replied and blasted a hole in the wall as she slung herself outside. Apollo made a bigger hole as he transformed into the Harbringer as he followed.

.

Sky Net's units opened fire, but against Allison and Apollo, they were soon turned into scrap metal. The only damage they did was to bring down the tower and the buildings from misses and deflected shots aimed at a fast moving Allison.

Once the machines were scrap, Allison saw the ruined buildings. "MOM!" she cried and raced to the rubble to fling debris aside. Noting more machines coming, Apollo flew off to deal with those as Allison dug her mother out of the rubble.

Throwing the roof and some timbers aside, Allison noted a pile of debris rise up. She threw the pieces aside to uncover a bloody Cameron in riped clothes. "Mom!" she cried and lifter her mother up and out. Horrified at the blood and missing skin on the side of her mother's face and one shoulder, she asked in a frantic tone, "What can I do?"

"Get us out of here, fast!" Cameron stated.

Wrapping her mother ni her arms, Allison shot them into the air, and formed four propeller Arms to drive them skyward. Seeing a small drone on the way up, she smashed it. She also felt projectiles coming at them. She flew higher.

"Allison, head north," Cameron said tonelessly.

"OK, Mom," Allison replied. She used another Arm to cover her mother's bare metal shoulder, bare cheek and side of her head.

Below on the ground, artillery shells began to land in a rain. Allison noted this, and Apollo, who was fighting another bunch of Sky Net machines. "Should we go help him?" Allison asked.

"No, he knows where we're going. He'll find us. Head north. Quickly." Cameron told her. She looked back at the communications station being bombed. All the instruments, everything they had, was back there. A place they could no longer go. It was now just her and Allison with only the clothes on their backs.

Calculating where they needed to go from ground references, Cameron pointed a metal finger in the direction they had to go in. "Allison, fly that way."

Allison nodded and adjusted her course. "I hope Apollo is OK," she said.

"He will be. Allison, you don't need to cover the places I am damaged. I am fully functional. Use your Arms to get us there and watch out for attacks," Cameron told her.

"But Mom, you look terrible!" Allison whined.

"I am fine. Get us there."

.

One thing Allison noted was below them small drones were doing their patrols. She also noted a line of vehicles. "Mom, see those?" she asked, pointing down.

Looking at the direction the vehicles were headed in, Cameron triangulated their path with the ones that she had picked up before going past the commutations station. She knew where Sky Net was.

The communications station they were headed for had drones in the air over it. Cameron knew the instant they were seen, there would be another artillery barrage attempting to destroy them. "Allison, can you deflect those shells Sky Net has been shooting at us?" she asked.

"Yes, but not in the volume they have been shooting them. I have to whack each one, I don't think my shields will stop them, they have too much energy," Allison told her. "Sky Net will know if we go down there, right?"

"Yes," Cameron stated. "Allison, I have the location of Sky Net."

"You do? Great! Let's go kill it!" Allison said eagerly.

Cameron cast Allison her blank look and said, "It is not that simple. I don't know how many units are protecting it, or when your Father will attack that location. To attack it means we may not survive. There is no data to confirm we may even get close enough to destroy it."

Allison thought about all the people dead, and all those who would die if they didn't destroy Sky Net. Not just the masses, but Daddy, Gramma, Byron and all her friends back home. "Mom, we have to," Allison said in a serious tone.

"I don't want you to die," Cameron stated.

"I don't want you, or anyone else to die, Mom," Allison replied. "But if we die and save everyone else, then it's worth it. How far away is Sky Net, and the closest place we can call John Henry?"

"Sky Net is fifty three miles away. The closest safe station to call John Henry is two hundred, thirty one miles away."

"Then let's go Kill Sky Net," Allison said firmly.

Cameron pointed they way. "This way. Stay high up. We're at nine thousand feet. Go up to ten thousand five hundred, that is as high as we can breath freely."

Allison changed course again, flying up just under the cloud cover as Cameron explained, "When we get there, we try to identify the facility holding Sky Net. Once we have it, go down fast. We'll have to find Sky Net and take it out before it's units can retaliate. IF we can't find Sky Net, we'll have to pass the information to your Father."

"We'll win, Mom. We have to."


	26. Chapter 26

CH 26

Sky Net reviewed the recent fight at the communications tower. It had found Allison Connor again, and expected the resulting destruction of it's forces by her and that Gargoyle. What it hadn't expected was Allison Connor to fly straight up under her own power and destroy the drone monitoring the fight.

Allison Connor could fly. That explained why she was moving without being detected. Allison Connor working with the Gargoyle so close to Sky Net's location also meant it was in grave danger. It readied the T-900 and downloaded itself into the five CPU chips in the T-900, leaving a copy of itself in the mainframe to defend the installation.

To aid in escape, Sky Net had ragged clothes appropriate for the weather collected for the T-900 to wear. Instead of north away from humans, Sky Net plotted a course to travel east. Human forces were coming closer, and it was sure they would take in a poor, refugee woman. Once they did, Sky Net could disappear and plot it's revenge.

.

Approaching the Sky Net facility, Allison found it was tougher than she thought. First was the missiles, coming at her in waves. She swatted and destroyed them as they approached. Cameron intently watched the ordinance coming at them. Besides the missiles, artillery was taking pot shots at them. Allison zigzagged and evaded the shells that shot harmlessly past them. Next was the flak. Shells that exploded randomly around them. The shrapnel bounced off Allison's shields as Cameron studied the buildings below them. Fire was coming up at them especially thick from three buildings.

"Got it yet?" Allison asked as she dropped to avoid another wave of shells coming up at them.

Cameron concluded Sky Net may put it's heaviest defenses away from itself to make them attack the wrong place. Not being sure if Sky Net had the tactical sense to do so, she had to go with making sure this place was completely destroyed. "The building with the communication dishes on it. Go down through the roof to the top floor," she said.

Allison dove, powering herself down as another wave of shells and a few missiles rose up at her. Leaving the exploding chaos above, she powered straight down, pulling back hard just above the building. She smashed the roof then brought more of it down as she spread her arms out to slow herself down more as they dropped through the hole. Miscalculating, Allison and Cameron plunged down through the floor, to land on the next floor down.

Standing in the debris from above, Allison released her hold on her mother as she put up a shield to block the debris raining down on them. "Sorry, I missed," she offered.

Cameron snapped her head side to side, taking in their environment. They were in a vacant office room.

"Follow me."

The hallway was clear. Cameron ran to the double doors at the end, searching for cabling. "Allison, rip the ceiling down," she ordered.

Allison did. The tiles and metal brackets rained down around them. Eyeing the pipes and conduits above, Cameron saw a junction box for Antenna three. It had two conduits coming out of it, one on each side. She followed one up into the floor above, then followed the other back to where it came out of the wall.

"Allison, see that silver pipe? We need to go where that originates from. Destroy whatever you have to, but leave that pipe intact," Cameron told her.

"Right, Mom," Allison replied, and punched a hole in the wall.

Going through that hole and following the pipe down down three floors, across another hallway, then down another floor, Allison led them to a large junction box in an elevator well. Standing in the last hole she'd made across the elevator well from the box, Allison frowned and asked, "Which way now? All the pipes go up."

"Straight in, make a hole just to the left of that box," Cameron instructed.

Allison did, ready to fight anything on the other side. "Hey, Mom? Why hasn't anything attacked us in here?"

"Because Sky Net is centering it's defenses around itself, and most likely plans to blow this building up. We must hurry."

Allison jumped across the space, followed by Cameron. The room they were in looked to Allison like one of those control rooms. Cameron went to a computer station and began typing. "Allison, watch the door," she said.

Allison did. She didn't open the door, but put an ear to it and listened closely. "Metallic feet, but not coming close," she reported.

Cameron finished her message, then scanned the room. "Allison, time to leave. Make a hole, there," she ordered.

"Aren't we going to destroy Sky Net?" Allison asked.

"Your Father is. He's got the coordinates, and will carpet bomb this area with everything available. We need to leave, now."

Allison punched a hole where he mother said to. Beyond was a room with windows in it. They ran through the hole. Allison blasted another hole to the outside, grabbed her mother and shot outside. Instead of flying high, she flew as fast as possible low, over the complex. A missile chased her, she slapped it into the ground.

"Faster," Cameron stated.

Allison put all her effort into speeding up. One arm held her mother, another held up a cone shield in front of them to make the wind go around them, and six propeller arms pulled them along at an ever increasing speed. Soon the facility was far behind them.

Straining from the effort, Allison asked in a stressed voice, "Mom? How far do we have to go?"

Seeing sweat beads on Allison's forehead, Cameron said, "Glide and look for a place to take shelter. A concrete building, deep valley or a cave." She looked back to see nothing was after them. She then scrutinized the landscape for a suitable place where they could rest for a while. It was also not lost on her that their food they had been left behind. Allison wasn't going to be able to eat anything for a while. That would be a problem.

.

Sky Net in the T-900 body walked through the remains of a power substation. The building beside the wrecked yard of transformers was still mostly intact. From behind came the sounds of gunfire. Looking back, it saw it's facility shooting every anti-aircraft battery skyward. It had escaped just in time.

Sky Net computed it was still too close. If that was Allison Connor, she could move very quickly. Sky Net fled the road and ran across a field and into the woods. It disappeared only a moment before Allison came gliding down and carried her mother into the substation through a hole in the wall.

.

Cameron searched the wrecked inside of the building for the safest place to be in the coming moments. Finding an electric vault that was intact, she guided Allison in and sat her down. She noted Allison rub her head. Cameron shut the door and took a seat by her. Putting an arm around Allison, she said, "Rest for a while."

Allison leaned into her mother. She also noticed her mother's pants were ripped, and a gouge was taken out of her lower leg to show her metal bones. "Mom, doesn't that hurt?" she asked as she scrunched her face up.

"I'm fine, Allison."

"Dad will get Sky get, right?"

"He will. I anticipate the bombardment will occur in the next five minutes. We should be safe here. Once it's over, we will go make sure."

"Think Mr. Finger ... I mean Apollo is waiting for us at that other station?"

"I don't know," Cameron said honestly. Petting Allison's hair, she said, "I never wanted this to happen to you. The last year you've spent more time fighting Sky Net, than you have being a little girl."

"It's OK, Mom. We do it because we're the only ones who can, right?"

"That's right."

They were silent for a few moments, then Allison asked, "Mom? Why does Apollo have that finger between his legs?"

The ground trembled in a quake, followed by a sonic boom. The boom died out and the ground trembled gain, harder. This time the quake kept going as the air shook with multiple booms. The trembling turned into shaking, vibrating their world. Parts of the building broke free and crashed outside their room.

Even in the dark, Allison could see in infrared the cracks developing in the walls. Light fixtures broke free and crashed to dance along the floor with the now heavy vibrations. Allison put a shield over them when pieces of ceiling broke free and smashed on the floor. The floor grew cracks, Large steel cabinets that were in a neat line shuddered with the quakes and fell over. Pipes began dropping around them. Allison deflected a large pipe away from them as it fell and doubled her shield.

"Mom, you did tell Dad the right place, didn't you?" Allison asked.

"Yes, we are feeling just the shocks, not the direct impacts," Cameron said flatly as the floor shuddered again.

"It's gotta suck to be Sky Net right now," Allison said.

"Let's hope so."

.

When Cameron's message with the Sky Net co-ordinates came in, John didn't waste any time. He immediately ordered every rail gun and missile launcher in range to target and fire on those coordinates in Tibet. Not long after the first impacts of the shells, John Henry reported that Sky Net went off line. The news cause a break of of cheers through the command center.

Holding back his joy, John decided to send a flight out to retrieve Cameron and Allison. Going over to John Henry's station, John asked, "What co-ordinates did Cameron transmit from? I'm going to send a rescue mission out to get her and Allison."

John Henry gazed at him blankly. "I do not think that is possible, General Connor. Those are the same coordinates Cameron reported Sky Net's location at."

"What?" John asked weakly, feeling the blood drain from his face.

"Yes, Cameron transmitted from where Sky Net was located. We just destroyed that place, and most likely everything within a mile around it."

"Oh God," John breathed as he leaned against a desk. "I just ordered a strike on my wife and child?"

John Henry tipped his head slightly. "From the time of transmission to the time of first impact was enough of a gap that Cameron and Allison most likely escaped. That is what I would do," he explained.

John swallowed hard. He HAD to believe they was still alive. Doing his best to keep his voice even, he asked, "John Henry, those units you are controlling in Asia, Can you send them searching for Cameron and Allison?"

"Yes. I will begin the instructions immediately."

.

At the old, and now demolished power station, A dome of rubble rose up and burst debris out like a mini-volcano. From within the cone of the dry eruption, Allison and Cameron crawled out up onto the summit.

"I think Daddy got it," Allison said as she looked out over the devastation. Here and there, fires burned on the wrecked landscape.

I the distance, Cameron saw a Sky Net transport coming, flying low over the ground, search lights panning the area. "Allison, get down."

The both ducked. Allison whispered, "Mom, I can whack that thing..."

"No," Cameron said quickly, interrupting her. "Not unless it sees us."

Allison Didn't argue. She stayed low, peeking over the top of the rubble as the transport went by. Watching it, her attention was drawn to the air. She didn't see anything yet, but felt a presence. "Mom, it's Mr Finger," she said, pointing up.

"His name is Apollo," Cameron said firmly.

Apollo came racing down from above to crash onto the transport, driving it to the ground. He ripped it apart with his claws and flew out of the burning wreckage to land beside their rubble pile.

Allison stood up and waved, "Hi Mr ... Apollo!" she said happily.

Apollo scowled at them. "I've been looking for you," he said heavily.

"You found us!" Allison replied. Feeling a bit mischievous from surviving and seeing their friend, she asked, "Did your Finger point the way?"

"TALK to your child!" Apollo said, glaring at Cameron.

"I will. First, will you fly us out of here? Sky Net is gone." Cameron told him. She then tipped her head. "John Henry just send me a message. He sent us a transport. You just destroyed it. There is another coming from the East. I sent him our coordinates. Please leave this one intact. The ride will be more comfortable for all of us."

.

Walking through the woods, Sky Net had come up with a human name for itself. Since it had taken on the outer appearance of a Chinese woman, it decided on Lin Yang. Lin had evaded Sky Net, and was searching for other humans. That was a plausible story. With the worn, dirty clothes to complete the look, the story should fool humans into taking her someplace 'safe'.

The attack on the facility Lin had expected, but not the ferocity. Eight point seven kilometers away, Lin was shaken off her feet by the earthquakes, and a tree fell down on on her. After the attack was over, Lin carefully pushed the tree off so as to not ruin the skin covering. Any exposed metal would show Lin was not human.

Not long after Lin had resumed her walk, she saw a transport coming. The transport turned to intercept her and shown a spot light down on her. Puzzled by this, she commanded it to land. The transport landed and the side door opened. From inside, a male voice said, "Greetings. Do not be frightened. I will take you to a safe place."

Lin was not frightened, but confused. "I am Lin Yang, a human, you will not hurt me?"

"Hello Lin, my name is John Henry. No, I will not cause you harm. I am picking up survivors in the area."

Lin got on the transport. The name John Henry was familiar. That was one of the rouge AI's. "May I thank you for the ride in person?" she asked, hoping to get near enough to destroy the AI. The Plasma guns in her arms would make certain John Henry was destroyed.

"I am operating this transport by remote, Once I pick up Cameron and Allison Connor, I will return this transport to the base, then you can thank me personally. Please, have a seat," John Henry said pleasantly.

Lin did, sitting down on one of the bare benches. This was a prime opportunity. With the Connors here, she could destroy them and John Henry all at once.

.

Apollo had made a toga-wrap out of the blanket so he'd be covered. He tried hard not to listen as Cameron explained the facts of life to Allison as they waited for the transport. Of course, Allison had many questions and comments as Cameron explained how babies were made. Unlike most mothers, Cameron stuck to the mechanical facts of reproduction. Apollo was never so glad to see a transport arrive and come down to give them a ride.

"I see, Mom, so that is how part of me can be Dad," Allison said, happy she had learned something new. "Are you and Dad going to have more babies?"

"No, I was pregnant when Sky Net attacked, but Sky Net shot me and killed our babies." Cameron said in her monotone voice.

"That's terrible!" Allison cried. "So, my sisters didn't even get a chance to live?"

"No, dear."

Stepping onto the transport that had good lighting, all the metal showing on Cameron gleamed in the light, seeming to make her damage look even worse. The whole left side of Cameron's face showed bare skull, as did much of her right shoulder and upper arm where flesh was still hanging off at her elbow, One metal knee poked out of her pants as did her left shin. Cameron's back was mostly exposed, showing silver backbone from just below her shoulders down to her waist.

Allison scrunched her face up. "Mom, you really look terrible!" she said in a whine as she payed attention to her mother's condition.

"I am fully functional, no need to worry. Come sit," Cameron told her.

Allison did, leaning up against her mother to put her arms around her in a hug. "I just feel bad for you, Mom," she said sadly.

It was then Allison noticed someone else was here also. Besides Apollo sitting across from them, there was another woman towards the back of the transport. The Chinese woman sat with her head down, not even sparing them a glance. Upon seeing her, Allison noticed there was something not right with her.

"Mom, who's that?" Allison asked as she turned her hearing up.

John Henry's voice came over the speakers as the craft lifted up. "That is Lin Yang. I picked her up three point one miles before I found you," he explained.

"I'm sure she hasn't had a very good time here either," Apollo offered.

"Hello, Lin, I am Cameron," Cameron said in Chinese.

Lin glanced at Cameron, said a meek, "Hello," and went back to studying the floor in front of her.

Her wariness peaked, Allison asked, "Lin, are you human?"

"She speaks Chinese, she doesn't understand," Apollo said in a huff.

"Strange," Cameron said in English. "It is obvious I am a terminator, but Lin shows no reaction. Humans usually have a strong reaction when so much of my skin is missing. Especially if they have been hunted by metal."

"She has no heartbeat," Allison stated.

Apollo looked over at the woman.

Cameron tipped her head slightly to the side. "What are you, Lin?"

"Mom, look at her infrared, she doesn't look human to me," Allison said. She let go of her mother and stood up beside her, invisible Arms out ready to defend or attack.

Apollo got up and walked towards the woman. "You were asked a question," he said in a hard tone in Chinese.

Lin cowered away from him. "Please, don't hurt me," she begged. Quickly, she figured angles and moves to kill all three efficiently, then take over the controls. She wouldn't get John Henry, but she would find him later.

Apollo strode over to stand directly in front of her.

"I would not do that if I were you," Cameron told him.

"Save yourself pain. Who are you?" Apollo demanded.

"Who are you?" Lin asked meekly, holding her arms up in front of her as it to shield herself from him.

"Mom, get on the floor," Allison stated as she stared at Lin. Cameron complied.

Shifting into his humanoid form, becoming taller and now bearing wings, horns and a very muscular body, Apollo said in a growl, "I demand to know ..."

Lin snapped her arms out at Apollo as her hands flipped back at the wrists and shot him in the chest with dual plasma bolts. Apollo's torso exploded out his back, then plasma bolts punched holes in the side of the transport. Pieces of Apollo splattered the walls.

Before Apollo's body recoiled from the blast, Allison shot her Arms out and chopped off both of Lin's arms, also ripping all the clothing and skin off her chest to show bare metal. Wrapping Lin with the rest of her Arms, Allison squeezed Lin, pulled her up to float in the air and turned her to face her.

Her eyes now crimson, Allison said in a heavy tone. "I no longer care what you are. You will die."

"I have a thermonuclear bomb inside me!" Lin said quickly in English. "Kill me, and you kill yourself, and your mother!"

"It is possible," Cameron stated.

Allison considered it. Thinking aloud, she said, "I have to ask myself, why would a cyborg here, be trying to run away? If it was anti-Sky Net and alone, it would be hiding much better. No, I think Sky Net saw us coming, and knew it could not stop us, so it put itself in a cyborg body to flee, while letting us believe we killed it. I think you are Sky Net, and you have proven you will do anything to survive. That means you will hesitate to activate your device as long as there is a chance you can find a way to escape."

In a commanding tone, Lin said, "Your only option for survival is to land this craft and let me go."

"That bomb must be someplace in your body," Allison mussed. She tore Lin's right leg off and asked, "In the right leg?"

"STOP, you are going to kill yourself!" Lin shouted.

Cameron knew what Allison was doing. "Keep going," she said.

"Left leg?" Allison asked, and ripped her left leg off. She punched a bigger hole on the fuselage as she threw the legs out.

"You can kill yourself, or we can make a deal!" Lin stated loudly.

"Lower torso?" Allison asked, and ripped her apart at stomach level and tossed the sparking lower half out of the transport.

"I will work with you. I can make you very powerful!" Lin stated.

For some reason, that struck Allison as funny. She laughed a short, bitter laugh. "Anything to stay alive, huh?" she asked.

"Yes, just name it." Lin stated.

Allison kept her grip on Lin with four Arms and threw her out the hole, then jumped out after her. Free of the transport, Allison shot them up in the air as she pulled Lin close. She had no intention of letting this thing live, but needed to get it away from her mother. Wearing a sadistic grin, Allison yelled, "I WANT RICHES!"

"Yes, all the money and precious minerals can find will be yours!"

"I WANT SLAVES!"

"I will make you all you want!"

"I WANT POWER TOO, PROMISE ME THAT!"

"The world will be yours!"

"I WANT EVERYTHING I ASK FOR!"

"All you want and more, please!" Lin cried, making a few tears to make it convincing.

Her face shifting into a snarl with tears of rage in her eyes, Allison screamed, "I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Allison then threw Lin up as she chopped her head off and smashed it flat. Allison reversed her propeller arms to drop down as she drove Lin's pieces as high and fast as possible.

A starburst of harsh white light appeared over Allison. Allison brought her Arms up in a shield as the hard punch of a concussion slamming down on her. The impact drove Allison down hard. The wind screamed by in her speed. Holding her arms out as flat as possible, Allison saw the ground coming up fast. It wasn't working. She balled her Arms around her in as tight and strong of a shield as possible. A quick calculation told her she was going to hit the ground at around two hundred miles an hour.

This was going to hurt. At least she had saved Mom, Dad, Byron and all her friends back home. She was going to really miss never seeing them again.


	27. Chapter 27

CH 27

She heard foggy, faraway sounding voices.

Her Father said, "Change the meeting. I'll be there later this afternoon."

Her mother said, "John, I will watch Allison. The instant something changes, I'll let you know."

"I hate to leave her."

"I know, but you still have things to do. I won't be going anywhere until Allison gets better and I get some skin regrown."

A sigh. "Yeah. OK, I'll be there in an hour."

In a dream, her parents kissed in her bedroom, and Daddy left to go to work. She wanted to say, "Bye, Dad," but nothing came out. The bed she was in she dreamed as her bed, but with some strange tubes going up her nose. Something was stuck in her arms too, on the inside of her elbow. She wanted to ask what it was, but again her mouth would not speak.

The dream shifted and changed again. In a rapid shift she was home, but in Byron's room. "Is Ally ever going to wake up?" Byron asked sadly.

"Eventually," her mother said.

Byron was here. Allison so wanted to say hi to him and tell him she was OK. In her dream, she heard him sniffle. Suddenly she saw him over her bed, looking sadly down on her.

Her mother said, "Byron, you should go see Sarah and get something to eat. You have been here since early this morning."

This was Byron, she so badly wanted to at least greet him. She'd missed him so much! She wanted to sit up and hold his hand so he wouldn't leave. Afraid he was going to leave, she tried to scream his name.

.

"Byron." The word was barely audible as Alison lay in the hospital bed. The soft sound got Cameron and Byron's attention. They both looked to see Allison was still out.

Byron moved over to the bed and took Allison's hand. "Ally? I'm here Ally," he said. She didn't reply, but her hand twitched in his.

"Did you see that?" Byron asked Cameron excitedly. "Ally moved her hand, I felt it! She might not be awake, but she knows I'm here!"

Cameron studied her daughter. When they had found Allison at the bottom of the impact crater she'd made on landing, there had been no life sign at all except for a very shallow heartbeat. The transport was wrecked from the bomb going off. Luckily, Apollo had regenerated, and had flown them to an army unit that had pointed them to an evac hospital. Once the doctors there knew who they were, it was a series of flights with medics giving her oxygen on a ventilator and glucose. Arriving at a hospital in Kyoto Japan, Allison was checked over. The doctors feared she was in a coma she might never come out of.

Cameron read Allison's body temperature. 99.2 Fahrenheit. Heat meant Allison's body was functioning on some level, and producing nanites. She knew as long as Allison's nanites were working, her body would be repaired eventually, even her brain. "I don't know when Allison will awaken," Cameron told him. "You should go down and get something to eat so you can come back and see it when she does wake up."

Byron nodded. Holding Allison's hand, he leaned over to her ear and said, "I'll be right back, Ally, promise." He then kissed her on the cheek and left.

.

The nice dream of lying beside Byron in a pretty field, watching the blue sky and white clouds drift by changed when Byron left her. When he kissed her cheek, she tried to move to give him a kiss, but her body refused to cooperate. Her pleasant dream shifted into a nightmare of a world of dark clouds and fighting machines.

.

Byron walked down the hospital hallway with the other people, gurneys and medical machines that flowed in both directions. He'd learned that here in this hospital in Niigata, Japan, one walked on the left side of the hallway, and took the elevators that were on the left side to keep from interrupting the flow.

This was the busiest hospital he'd ever seen. He found it was easy to get lost here, even with all the direction signs hanging from the ceiling that were written in three languages. Having been here a week, he now knew the way to the large cafeteria, Allison's room, and the entrance.

On the other side of the hallway, men in greens pushed a gurney that bore someone with a sheet covering them completely. Byron knew whoever that was had died. He'd seen many of those also. Niigata had suffered a direct hit from a nuclear bomb, and even though many of the the well built buildings had survived, the people were not. It wasn't enough that the bomb here had killed close to a million people when it went off. They were still dying all over the place. Add to that the war casualties that were being sent here from other hospitals that were filled, and it was easy to see why this place was so busy.

Getting down to the cafeteria, Byron got in line and in the slow shuffle as the line moved along, he picked up his tray, cup and silverware. Like the hallways, the cafeteria line was unforgiving. If you passed something you wanted, then you didn't get it unless you went all the way to the back and started again.

Byron got his usual tray of tofu, mixed vegetables, spaghetti like noodles and cup of juice. Each cavity in his tray was not very big. A meal here was pretty much the same as a snack back at home, ten bites and it was gone. He wasn't going to complain. He knew food was scarce and had to be rationed out. It was easy to see why everyone was so skinny, they were all hungry.

Through the line with his meager dinner, Byron looked over the sea of tables to find a place to sit. Unfortunately, he didn't see anyone he recognized. He found a table where a nurse was getting up. He went over and stood behind the chair and asked, "May I sit here?" Manners were big here.

Another nurse and a girl looked at him and waved him down. He bowed and took the seat. Again, as he'd seen others do, he bowed to his tray and said, "Thank you for the food."

"It is nice to see a polite young man," the nurse beside him said with a smile.

"Thank you," he replied, happy to see she spoke English.

"My name is Yuka," the girl on his other side said.

"I'm Byron, pleased to meet you, Yuka," he told her. He tried not to see the bandage that covered half her face. "The nurses let you come down from your room to eat?" he asked.

Yuka shook her head. "I don't have a room. I can moved all right, so I just come in for the doctor to check me," she explained. "You are visiting someone?"

"Yes, my friend, Allison. She got hurt really bad. She hasn't woken up yet, but today, she did twitch her hand and whispered my name, so she's getting better," he offered with a smile.

Yuka cast him a sad glance. "Byron, please do not be disappointed when she dies. We were sure mother was getting better. She was even able to sit up, but we came the next day to see her and were stopped by the nurse. She had died during the night. There was nothing they could do."

Byron's face fell. "Yuka, I am so sorry," he said sincerely.

"It couldn't be helped," Yuka said sadly. Forcing a smile, she added, "But the news said things will get better. Sky Net is dead, so the wars will soon be over."

"Yeah, Ally killed it. Mrs. Connor told me," Byron agreed.

"Who is Ally?" she asked.

"Allison, my friend. She went to China and killed Sky Net, but it almost killed her too."

The low talk that was going around the table stopped. Everyone looked at Byron.

A thin man across from Byron asked, "Excuse me, this Allison of yours. She is Allison Connor?"

Byron nodded. "Yeah, we go to school together. That is when we can after the wars started," he said.

The man got up and bowed to Byron and said, "Then please accept our heartfelt gratitude for saving all of us."

Seeing the man shed a tear as he thanked Byron, the only thing Byron could think of to say was, "I'll tell Allison when she wakes up."

"If I may," Yuka said meekly. "I would like to go thank Allison myself, for all of us."

"Please, allow us to send our gratitude with you," the man said to the girl.

A couple people produced pens. Taking turns, they wrote notes on clean napkins and passed them to Yuka. Many of them thanked Byron for Allison's sacrifice, which made him a little nervous. He hadn't done anything. Still he accepted their thanks. He offered to take the napkins up to Allison, but Yuka insisted she be the bearer of their gratitude.

His meager meal gone (and swearing he was now hungrier than when he came down to eat), Byron took Yuka's tray to the kitchen line as she carried and armload of napkins with the written notes on them. He escorted Yuka back to Allison's room. He noted Yuka was a almost a head taller then him, but her arms were toothpicks. He felt bad that she insisted on carrying anything by herself. He did take care to keep a watch out for her blind side so she didn't run into anyone by accident.

On the way, Byron figured he should warn Yuka about what Cameron looked like. "Ah Yuka? Allison's mom is pretty torn up. She doesn't look normal, so please don't be freaked out."

Yuka cast him a tiny smile and said, "I have seen many badly injured people. She managed to get a room with Allison? That is fortunate."

"Allison isn't like other people, so Mrs. Connor is taking care of Allison," Byron explained.

"Allison must be unique to be able to do what no one else can," Yuka agreed.

"She is. Ally is the only Christmas tree- pretty girl I know. I really hope she wakes up soon," he said in an attempt to put a smile on Yuka's serious face.

Yuka's face crimped. "Byron, you are a nice boy, and I am sure Allison likes you as much as you like her. You must prepare yourself for the possibility Allison will never wake up. Mother managed to get better for a day before she died. Father never woke up at all," she explained.

"Both your parents died?" Byron asked. ""Where do you stay?"

"The homeless shelter not far from here. Mr. Kuroda makes sure we all have a place to sleep, some food to eat, and get to our doctor appointments on time," Yuka explained.

"That's terrible," Byron said. "I was lucky, I guess. The Connors took me in after my parents were killed. You don't have any home, do you?"

Yuka shrugged and said, "There are very few whole families left, and so many people are sick and dying, I think we just get grouped together to see who will survive."

Byron was ready to cry at what she was telling him. Flowing along with the traffic, he saw they were coming to Allison's room. "In here," he said and helped guide Yuka through the doorway.

Cameron wasn't in the room when they entered. Byron saw Allison was still out. "This is Allison," he said. He saw Yuka's visible eye grow wide.

"A yokai," Yuka whispered.

"A ... what?" Byron asked, confused.

"Allison is a yokai," Yuka said again. "That would explain how she can do things no one else can." Looking at Byron, she said, "You have been greatly honored to have a yokai as your friend." Yuka looked for a place to set the stack of napkins down. Byron guided her to the chair Mrs. Connor had been using.

"I thought Ally was a cyborg?" Byron said.

Yuka shook her head. "That is incorrect. See Allison's hair color, those horns? She is some kind of Oni yokai, but I don't know what. I had thought yokai were nothing but myth, but I was wrong."

Setting the napkins down, Yuka folded her hands in front of her and moved to Allison's side. In a reverent tone, she spoke to Allison in Japanese, bowing deeply several times as she spoke.

"Arigato," Allison whispered.

"Ally?" Byron asked and rushed to her other side. "Ally, can you hear me?" he asked eagerly. "Please, Ally, wake up," he pleaded as he took her hand.

Allison's head turned to him. "Byron?" she asked in a whisper. Her eyelids parted.

Byron grew a big smile. "Yeah, Ally, I'm here. You're safe now."

Allison returned his smile. Her voice gained a little volume, but was still weak. "Byron, I did it. I got rid of Sky Net. We can go back to school now, right, Mom?"

"Once you recover," Cameron stated from behind them, which made Yuka turn and gasp.

"Mrs. Connor, Ally's awake," Byron said happily as he wore a big grin.

"She won't be for long," Cameron reminded him. "You need to let her rest." Looking down at her chair, she asked, "What are these?"

Yuka had heard all about the humanoid cyborgs that Sky Net used to kill people. Allison's mother bore many bandages over her body, but her face that was partially ripped away didn't show bone, but metal underneath. Yuka managed to force past her shock as seeing a real cyborg and said, "They are words of thanks and prayers for Allison." Bowing, partially so she could briefly escape the sight of Cameron, she said, "Please accept our humble gratitude for stopping Sky Net and saving us."

"You're welcome," Cameron replied.

"Mrs. Connor? Yuka doesn't have a home," Byron said. "Her parents died, and she's living in a shelter."

Yuka blushed and said, "Please, do not worry yourself over me."

Cameron tipped her head slightly as she eyed Yuka. "The radiation levels here are very unhealthy and the infrastructure is too damaged to provide effective protection. John is working at expediting immigration and adoption procedures to get people to safer places to live. Yuka, would you like to come home with us?"

"I am honored you would think of me," Yuka said meekly.

"Yuka?" Allison asked in her whispery voice. "Please, come close."

Yuka bent closer.

"Your ear, please?"

Yuka put her ear to Allison's mouth.

In a low whisper, Allison said, "I feel really horrible. If I die, Byron will need someone. Please be there for him."

Yuka pulled back and nodded. "It will be my honor," Yuka said reverently.

"Thank you," Allison said with a small grin.

Yuka rose and turned to bow to Cameron. "Mrs. Connor, please allow me to become part of your house."

Cameron nodded. "We will be happy to accommodate you. Byron, take Yuka to collect her belongings, then help her get settled in our quarters in Allison's room. I will inform you of any changes with Allison."

"Yes, Mrs. Connor," Byron said, then leaned over Allison to give her a gentle hug. "Get well, Ally. I'll come back to see you as soon as I can."

"Be safe, Byron," Allison replied in a whisper. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Byron walked beside Yuka as they left the hospital. On the street, crews were working at tearing down ruined buildings and putting up new ones. Besides the workers, there were trucks parked here and there unloading food to people who stood in lines. The sky here was dismal and even through the mask he and everyone else wore while outside, the air smelled terrible. It held a burnt, sickening sweet smell to it. He was almost glad his meal wasn't very filling, for he had to choke back the urge to vomit.

The homeless shelter Yuka took him to was just that, a shelter. Made of scraps of corrugated metal for a roof and walls that bore various kinds of patches, it was barely basic protection from the elements. Going through the door that was a carpet , they went into a wreck of a place where people of all ages sat and laid on blankets and mats. Every one of them bore faces like their life had been drained out of them.

Leading Byron over to an area where a couple men and women were working at a woman's nasty looking leg bandage, Yuka bowed to them. She spoke to them. One woman replied, then came over and hugged her. The women then smiled at Byron.

"Thank you for taking Yuka into your home. That is very generous of you."

Not knowing what else to do, Byron bowed to her. "We'll take care of Yuka." glancing at all the ragged people here, he said with a wince, "I kinda wish we could take everyone."

"Such a kind boy. We do what we can, yes?"

Byron nodded.

Yuka said goodbye to a few others. They all waved and wished her well.

Leaving, Byron noticed Yuka hadn't collected any clothes. "Hey Yuka, you forgot your clothes," he said.

"These are all that I have," Yuka said. "The mat I slept on, I am sure someone else will need."

"Yeah," Byron said quietly. "Ah, the base is this way. It's not much to look at, but at least the air inside is clean."

They walked a few blocks, then Yuka asked, "The Connors took you in after your parents died?"

Byron nodded. "Our town got attacked by those Sky Net machines. One came in the house and killed Mom and Dad. Me and Gina tried to hide, but it found her. It would have killed me too, but Ally showed up and tore it's head off. I've been living with them ever since," he explained. "Ally is really cool and smart." Sporting a brief grin he added, "She really kicks butt too. When we were running from the attacks, Sky Net tanks found us but Ally destroyed them all. She felt bad after and had to sleep for a few days. Kinda like she is now. I'm hoping she'll get better soon."

"Allison means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does. I was scared for her every time she left to fight Sky Net. I'm really glad that's over now. She killed it, so now we can go back to school and have fun like we used to do."

Yuka nodded sadly. "What grade were you in at school?" she asked.

"I finished sixth grade just before we left. Ally was in fifth ... I think. We went to Dietrich Academy, that's a school for high IQ students." Byron let out a short laugh and said, "I thought I was smart, but Ally is a real genius! She can do things that are really amazing too. I think maybe that's why Sky Net tried to kidnap her at Becky's birthday party. I think Sky Net somehow knew that Ally was able to kill it."

"Yokai are said to be very powerful," Yuka said thoughtfully. "It doesn't surprise me that Allison was

able to do what no one else could. I am very grateful she was here to do it." Casting Byron a glance, she asked, "You are returning to Dietrich Academy for school?"

"If we can. The school building was demolished the second time Sky Net attacked, but when we left to come see Ally, Gloria was still having class in the Palmdale school building. I hope it's still there. Me and Ally's friends go there too."

"How old are you?"

"I'm ten, Ally is ... eight. How old are you?"

"Fourteen, I think. I lost track recently. So, you are ten years old and you are almost into junior high?" Yuka asked.

"Like I said, I'm real smart. Learning things is easy for me. It's even easier when Ally and I study together. We kinda almost know how the other thinks. If you need help with anything, let us know, we'll help you," Byron said confidently.

"I will do that. Do you play any sports?"

Byron shrugged and said, "Not really. Before all this war stuff began, me and Ally liked to play computer games with Dan and Becky, mostly war games. I think now after what Ally's been through, she won't want to do that any more. It was mostly the challenge of it we liked, you know, outwitting the other team? We played kickball at school. Ally's really good at that too. She can really wallop the ball!"

Yuka frowned at nothing as she said, "Byron, I can tell you like Allison very much. It is good to have such a close friend. You must face the fact she may die."

They walked along another half block before Byron said, "No. Ally can't die. I don't know what I'd do without her."

.

John brought Cameron some food when he visited her and Allison. He knew the portions and makeup of the hospital food was barely enough to keep anyone alive, and Cameron needed nutrients to rebuild her skin. He got the latest news. They were adopting a Japanese girl who'd lost her family, which John was perfectly all right with. Byron had taken her back to the base to get her settled. The news on Allison was mixed. She was strong enough to wake briefly, but the radiation she'd absorbed was severely hampering her body from repairing itself.

Normally, Allison's body could fight off the effects of radiation, or repair severe damage. Unfortunately, Allison had received a high dose of radiation, then was driven into the ground, which while it didn't break any of her bones, it did tear up her insides.

Cameron was doing her best to produce excess nanites to feed into Allison's IV to help their daughter in her fight for survival. Even with that help, Allison's body was struggling to heal.

"What can I do?" John asked as he looked at Cameron's tired face as he held her bandaged hand.

"Keep bringing me nutrients. That is all you can do," Cameron replied. Looking squarely at him, she said, "John, I have recomputed Allison's chances of survival several times. It always comes out to fifty three percent. Our child may die, John."

By Cameron's blank face, John knew she was highly upset. He wished he could do more. "I know," he said softly and hugged his wife.

"We've lost two babies. I don't want to loose Allison too," Cameron said in a flat tone.

"Neither do I, hon. We can only try our hardest and hope for the best," he said as he petted her hair.

"You should return to our quarters. Byron and Yuka are there waiting for you."

John kissed her and got up. "Let me know if anything changes."

"John?" Cameron asked. "I haven't told Byron about Allison's chances. He would be devastated."

"I know. I'll keep things as positive as possible. Call if you need anything." John kissed Cameron again. He cast a sad glance at their baby girl, lying there with tubes in her. For how strong she was, John didn't want to believe she might actually die. He left praying that Allison would recover.


	28. Chapter 28

Ch 28

John went to their quarters, the front half of a quonset hut that was sealed against the airborne radiation and pollution outside. He stood in the small entryway to get 'cleaned by an air curtain that blew fresh pressurized air over him to remove and dust, then upon the little green light over the door coming on, he contunied inside. This wasn't a complete decontamination, only enough to get any 'excess amounts' off him.

John met the Yuka, and returned her bow when she greeted him. Or course, Sarah was doting over the skinny, pale girl and Byron cycled around trying to find a way to be useful.

Sarah took John to the side. In a serious tone she said, "John, we have to get that girl out of here to someplace without so much radiation. It's not doing any of us any good, and she is beginning to loose her hair."

"I know, Mom. As soon as Cameron says it's OK to move Allison, we're heading home," he said in agreement. "General Matsumoto is taking over the Far East command, he's not meeting any hard resistance. It seems the remaining Sky Net forces are fighting only when we find them. The war has turned into a giant mop-up operation."

Sarah glanced over at Yuka and said, "I called Jenny in the Palmdale city council. She said there are many vacant houses they would like to get filled. We need to take one."

John winced and said, "Mom ... I don't know. We are still tied to the Army, I don't think they will just let us go on our merry way."

"Then we need to put an addition on our house, rapidly," Sarah stated.

.

Cameron migrated the bulk of her newly formed nanites to a point in her forearm, then put a hypodermic syringe in her arm to draw them up. Although it wasn't possible to get all of them, she did get 89% of them transferred to inject into Allison's arm. From all the damage Cameron had received, her body was maxed out on producing nanites. Most of these, she was injecting into Allison to help her daughter repair herself.

Normally, Cameron liked to take care of herself and maintain a perfect exterior for John and herself. It made her feel good to be pretty. At the moment, she didn't care if she was bare endoskeleton. She had to save Allison.

Allison moaned and tossed her head. Cameron watched her eyes move under their lids. Allison was dreaming. This was an improvement. Dreaming meant activity, and activity meant more of Allison's systems were operating. Although humans called them 'organs', be it mechanical or biological, all parts worked in concert together to create systems. More nerves were sending signals, more muscles were reacting, more of Allison was coming back from the brink.

"Noooo!" Allison whined as she thrashed her head again.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Cameron said, "Allison, I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Mom ... run," Allison whined as her body stared to twitch.

"You are in a hospital, you are safe. Allison." Cameron said firmly.

"It's coming ... run," Allison cried louder as she thrashed in place.

"Allison, nothing is coming, wake up."

Tears came to Allison's crimped eyes. "It's coming! Mom, help me!" Allison cried, this time loud enough to get the attention of a couple nurses in the hallway.

"Is everything all right?" a nurse asked as she poke her head in the door.

Cameron knew Allison was having a nightmare, and she couldn't wake her up. Not knowing how much Allison had recovered, or if her invisible arms worked, Cameron spun to the nurse and said, "Clear the hallway and this end of the hospital."

"Maybe a sedative..."

"NOW, before she brings the building down on you!" Cameron snapped.

"Mom, get away!" Allison wailed as her body shuddered in tremors.

In the hallway, the nurse had taken Cameron at her word and was calling for everyone to quickly leave the area.

"Allison, you have to wake up!" Cameron said, and shook her. Try as she might, she could not get Allison to open her eyes and break out of her nightmare.

A figure appeared just inside the door. Looking anxious, Apollo asked, "What is it?"

Allison erupted with a scream as her eyes flew wide open. Cameron was hit hard to be driven into the outside wall, causing a spiderweb of cracks around her as the window above her shattered. Right in front of Allison, Apollo was blasted back to be torn to shreds along with the door frame and wall behind him. Ten feet of wall and bits of Apollo sprayed down to the end of the now vacant hallway, causing a few people to recoil back into the rooms, and a few doors to burst open.

The fire alarm went off.

Sitting up, Allison panted in gasps as she took in her surroundings. She had a straight line view down the path of destruction where gray dust hung in the air, debris on the floor was mixed with red gore. The wall beside her was buckled, and the wall that now had a gapping hole instead of a window to the outside was cracked. She wasn't fighting huge Sky Net machines that reassembled themselves as fast as she was destroying them. She was in a hospital bed. She saw a nurse peek cautiously out of the partial room next to hers.

Relieved it was only a nightmare, Allison let out a sigh and she relaxed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell limp.

.

Although all the doctors and nurses had a great respect for Allison, it was unanimously decided Allison could no longer stay in the hospital. The danger of another nightmare causing massive destruction was too great. Orderlies were shocked when the pieces of whatever poor soul that got caught in Allison's blast, reassembled themselves together and then asked for a robe.

Gathered around Allison's bed, where Allison was again sleeping peacefully, John, Cameron and Apollo pondered what to do with her.

John rubbed a hand over his face and said, "Byron is aching to see her again, but I don't dare let him."

"Agreed," Cameron said, now showing more metal from getting hit by Allison's blast. "I was on the edge of the mind blast, and I was almost thrown outside. Apollo was smeared down to the end of the hall."

"Let me take her home," Apollo offered. "Only Kahlua and I are there, and it is remote enough that there will be no danger to anyone else should she have another nightmare."

"Where is your home?" John asked.

"The hills outside LA. It is a nice, quiet place which I think she needs right now," Apollo explained.

Cameron said, "Allison still needs my help. I am sorry, John, but Allison is dangerous to be near for you or Sarah to join us."

"Any idea why she had such a violent nightmare?" John asked.

Casting John an unhappy gaze, Apollo said in a somber tone, "Mr. Connor, you sent your eight year old daughter off to war where she saw nothing but death and destruction for how long? Tell me. do you really need to guess WHY she is having nightmares?"

John flushed at Apollo's reprimand. He couldn't deny it. No matter how justified they were, he knew Apollo was right. "I'm sorry, Allison," he said meekly.

"We had no choice," Cameron stated. "Allison knew that. That is why she went and insisted on ending it."

"And you let that innocent girl make her own decisions," Apollo grated as he cast Cameron an evil eye.

"Did you stop her?" Cameron asked, casting Apollo her blank stare.

"I would think that would be your job," Apollo grated.

"Enough," John snapped and frowned at Apollo. "You want to hear we fucked up? FINE! We. Fucked. Up. Bad John, Bad Cameron! Instead of arguing about it, we need to do what's best for Allison. At the moment, that is someplace quiet, and where she can recover and not hurt anyone. Someplace she recognizes to help keep her calm."

"Dietrich Academy," Cameron said. "The building is collapsed, but the grounds are familiar to her, and it is isolated."

"Daddy?" a tiny voice asked.

John looked to see Allison was awake and looking at them. "We're here, sweetie," he assured her and went to sit on the bed by her. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty bad, but it's getting better," Allison said with a slight smile. "This damage, did I do that?"

"You had a nightmare hon," John said gently.

"I'm sorry."

John shook his head, saying, "Not your fault, sweetie."

"Did Mommy say I could go back to Dietrich?" Allison asked hopefully.

"We were talking about it, yes," John agreed.

Allison looked at the plastic that had been put up where the window had been, and now hung down to close off her room where walls used to be. "I'm a danger now, aren't I?" she asked sadly.

"You are sick, hon," John said softly. "Very soon, we're all going to fly home and help you get better,OK?"

"Allison," Cameron said as she came over to the other side of the bed. "Would you like to help rebuild the Dietrich school?"

Allison nodded.

John pondered briefly a Cameron's idea. He got it, if Allison was involved with a project like that, she would focus on it and maybe not have these destructive nightmares. "You'd have to live there for a while, hon," he told her. "Will that be OK?"

Allison nodded again, looking at him. "It would also keep everyone safe from me too, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Cameron stated, which made John gape at her for admitting such a thing. "Right now, Allison, your thoughts are all of Sky Net and war. The sooner you start thinking about something constructive, the sooner your nightmares will decrease in intensity."

"Cameron, why did you tell her... ?" John asked.

Cameron cut him off. "Allison must know the truth, John. She has already figured out part of it. Her nightmares are a danger to herself and everyone around her. The sooner we can help those nightmares go away, the better for Allison and us."

.

Allison and Cameron flew by helicopter from the hospital to the airfield to be loaded onto a A-747 with the rest of her family. Apollo insisted on coming 'just in case'. No one had any illusions the plane would survive one of Allison's nightmares, so only the flight portion of the crew were aboard.

Byron became glued to Allison's side the moment she arrived. Clasping Allison's hand, he convinced Cameron and John that Allison would have better dreams if he was with her. Allison stayed awake long enough to confirm she had good dreams when Byron was there, so they let Byron stay in Allison's cabin with Cameron monitoring them. Twice during the flight, Allison woke up briefly to verify Byron was with her, then drifted back off to sleep.

After the second time Allison fell back to asleep, Byron quietly started talking to her. He felt like she needed to hear his voice to confirm his presence. He talked to her about all the things he did in school, the improvements Gramma Sarah made on the house, and everything he could think of to just keep talking. Becoming tired, he fell asleep sitting next to Allison, still holding her hand in his.

Not long after Byron passed out, Cameron saw him lift up as if someone was lifting him, and lay beside Allison. Allison shifted to put her head on his shoulder. Byron put an arm around her. She also took note Allison now bore a peaceful look on her face. Cameron was sure that no nightmares would haunt her daughter as long as Byron was right there with her. She was like her father in that respect. Back when John had a bad dreams, all it took to sooth his mind was for Cameron to lay down with him.

At the same time it did concern her that Allison had used her mental arms unconsciously. It was possible that Byron, or anyone was not going to be safe so close to her.

.

Although everyone from High Command and every political figure up to the President wanted to congratulate John and his family on destroying Sky Net, John asked them to hold off due to Allison being injured. He did have Cameron explain over the coms about 'Sky Net's final moments', and the strike Cameron called down on their position to destroy it, then discovering it had escaped and finding it on their transport where Allison finished it off.

Before their plane touched down at the base near Palmdale, the tale of how Cameron and Allison Connor had found and destroyed Sky Net was international news. By the time a hospital unit consisting of two trailers and a portable power generating station was set up at the ruins of Dietrich Academy, More of Cameron and Allison's exploits from the war were reaching the UN and news reporters. By the time Allison was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Dietrich, Cameron was recognized formally by the UN as a 'Hero of Humanity', and Allison was christened the worlds' very first real 'Super Hero'.

One station played the news, then showed pictures of Cameron and Allison – even pictures of the car accident Cameron was in as well as Pictures of Allison in Nicaragua getting her public awards- as they played Bonnie Tyler's 'I Need A Hero'. Several music bands also got to work on writing commemorative songs for Cameron and Allison.

.

None of this mattered to John or Cameron. They got Allison set up in her new private room in the care trailer. John had ordered plenty of food for Cameron so she could supply the nutrients for Allison and herself. He went outside to ensure a guard force was in place around the perimeter of the property, but no closer than 200 yards to Allison's trailer. While it made sense her nightmares would lessen with some therapy and time, he'd seen the blast that she had unwillingly caused. Even asleep, Allison could lay waste to whatever was caught in the path of her invisible arms.

The room inside the trailer was nicer than what John had expected. The large, quiet air conditioner set in the wall also had a radiation filter on it. Her bed was a standard full sized hospital bed, the windows had curtains and pull-down blinds, she had a bathroom with a shower in it, and a carpet lay on her floor. Inside, it was hard to tell she was in a trailer. Even the door to her room looked like a bedroom door. All the services, medical lab and the supplies were in the other trailer.

John had to agree with the crew who set this up. Only the best for Allison.

The bedroom door opened and Sarah came in, trailing Byron and Yuka. "How's she doing?" she asked. Yuka was in new clothes and being cleaned up, looked much better than she did. Byron held up a Teddy bear with a 'get well' on it.

"I got something for Ally. I couldn't find her stuffed monkey," Byron announced.

Cameron put a finger to her lips. "Shh, Allison is asleep."

"Sorry," Byron said in a loud whisper. He went over to the bed and put the bear by Allison's pillow.

Quietly, Cameron explained to Sarah, "Allison is sleeping sound. No further nightmares so far. If she does have one, run."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "I'm going to take Yuka and Byron home. Yuka still needs to get settled and we have to put all her new clothes away."

"Ahhh, Gramma Connor?" Byron asked. "Is it OK if I stay here with Ally?"

The adults pondered for a moment, weighing the risk to Byron VS the calming affect he had on Allison should she suffer a nightmare. Seeing their faces, he added, "If Ally can't help herself, I'll run, OK?"

"Byron," Yuka said meekly. "Allison asked me to help keep you safe."

"Then ... hold the door open so I can run faster," Byron offered.

John couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "How about this?" he asked. "Byron, you go help Mom and Yuka get things straightened out at the house, then come back later?"

"Yes, please," Cameron added.

Byron let out a huff. "OK," he said begrudgingly. He clasped Allison's hand and kissed her forehead. Quietly he said, "I have to go but I'll be back later. It's OK, Ally, your safe now." He then left with Sarah and Yuka.

After they left, Cameron collected another pool of nanites and injected them into Allison's IV.

Watching her, John waited until she was done, then came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He gently rubbed them, even the bare metal shoulder. "How are you doing, hon? You haven't had any rest in days."

"I need to care for Allison," she said tonelessly.

"You need to take care of you, too," John said, scolding her mildly. "I don't care about all your metal showing, but you need to shut down in maintenance mode for a while. You've been non stop active since you got back, and for a few days before that, if I'm not mistaken. Cam, honey, please. Lie down and rest for a while. I'll be here for Allison."

A hand sporting a few bare metal fingers laid atop of John's. In a hollow tone, Cameron said, "Sky Net killed our other two babies. I can't let Allison die."

John laced his fingers in hers. "Hon, our baby is no longer in immediate danger. You have already done wonders for her. Now rest, please," he coaxed.

Cameron got up and faced him. They hugged, and Cameron reluctantly let John guide her to the cot by the wall and got her laid down. "John, if she wakes up, try to get her to eat something."

"I will," John assured her.

"And try to determine if she is sore anyplace, or has any damage inside, or if she can't feel any extremities."

"I will," John said a little more firmly. "Rest, hon."

Cameron cast him a brief smile with the half of her mouth that was still there. "I love you, John Connor."

"I love you too, Cameron Connor. See you when you wake up, at least four hours. More if you want."

"Four hours," Cameron agreed. She relaxed and went into maintenance mode.

.

Riding back home in the front seat with Sarah and Byron, Yuka asked, "Mrs. Connor? What is Allison's mom? She's not a yokai like Allison is, but she has metal bones and having all that skin missing, doesn't that hurt?"

Explaining so Yuka could understand, Sarah said, "Cameron is a cyborg. Part machine, part person. As for missing skin, I'm sure it does hurt, but Cameron doesn't feel things like you and I do."

"I think she does," Byron mussed. "I mean, she looks pretty sad. Cameron used to smile a lot and she was nice to be around. She talks in a flat tone now, and, I dunno, she just looks like she's hurting. I don't think she will yell in pain, but I do think she feels it."

"I think so too," Yuka agreed.

Sensing the somber tone in the car, Byron piped up with, "I hope Ally gets better soon. I want to have a party for her with everyone. We all miss her, and I know she missed us."

Sarah cast him a tiny smile. "We will, just as soon as she's healed."

.

John sat by Allison's bed waiting for any sign of Allison waking up. He also kept watch of the time to ensure Cameron stayed inactive for at least four hours. The first two house were pretty boring, watching

Allison sleep. He then noted her head twitch from one side to the other and she let our a moan.

John perked up immediately. Allison's eyes were shut, but he could see her eyes moving quickly under the lids. "Allison, honey?" he asked.

"Byron?" Allison asked in a whisper.

"Sweetheart, it's Daddy. Byron went home, he'll be back soon," John told her soothingly.

Allison shook her head a little harder. "No ... not home... Byron," she said, sounding stressed.

"Allison, Byron is safe, you are safe," John said firmly. "Allison, wake up."

"Noooo, not Byron!" Allison cried.

"Allison, wake up!" John said loudly. He saw her twitch again and her body stiffened.

"Allison, wake up!" John cried and dove to the floor.

"BYRON, NOOO!" Allison screamed. She shot up to sit and her eyes flew open. A resounding BOOM sounded and the whole front wall of the trailer and a good portion of roof was blasted away to fly off in pieces.

John got up and looked at the destruction as Allison panted in gasping breaths. He didn't see any blood or bodies. "It's OK sweetie, calm down," he said.

Allison stayed sitting up. She blinked and looked at the damage. She then turned her head to John. "Daddy?" She asked in a small voice.

At the scream and explosion, Cameron also sat up.

Allison burst out in tears. John held her as she cried. After a moment, Allison pushed him away. "Daddy, you can't be near me," she cried. "I'm dangerous Daddy!"

John resisted her push. "It's OK, Allison. I'm not going to leave you. Nether is Mommy, she's right here too," he explained.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Allison whined and fell into him.

"You're safe," John said as he held her and petted her hair. "You're safe, Byron is safe. Calm down."

"But you're not," Allison said meekly. "Daddy, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"I know, baby. No one is hurt, OK?"

Coming over to sit on the bed facing Allison, Cameron asked, "Allison, what did you dream?"

Allison let out a sniffle and said, "I was back in Byron's house. The Terminator man was there, he was going to kill Byron."

"You were afraid for Byron," Cameron stated.

Allison nodded.

John looked at the front of the trailer, rather the leaned over side walls and open sky. It was a good thing he ducked. He also noted guards running towards them.

They were going to need another trailer.


	29. Chapter 29

CH 29

It was a strange arrangement. A dual sized house trailer had been brought in and set up, with one bedroom in the back corner, the double bed in that room facing the back of the mobile home and the open area In the long semi-circular driveway of Dietrich Academy. Several covered trailer ends were also found in case they were needed for replacement after a violent nightmare.

Despite their age, John, Cameron and Sarah all agreed Allison and Byron needed to sleep together to keep Allison calm. John and Cameron shared the bedroom beside them, Sarah and Yuka had their rooms at the other end to stay out of the line of fire. With the whole family together, they were hoping Allison would feel more at ease, and the violent nightmares would stop. Once Alison was well enough to stand on her feet, she healed quickly and was back to normal physically. Cameron let herself begin healing.

The first day Allison was able, she went outside with Byron to get a look at the remains of Dietrich Academy. When Allison heard Dietrich was 'destroyed', she had imagined the building was completely leveled with nothing left but a pile of rubble. The front of the building was missing plenty of windows, and part of the roof was gone, but is was basically intact. Waking around to the back, she saw the middle section of wall was collapsed, but the ends were still there. The remains of a an aircraft was scattered over the grounds, and had wiped out the pavilion area.

"It's not that bad," Allison remarked as she looked through the huge hole in the back wall to see most of the first floor structure was intact. The second floor was lissing a large chunk, and parts were hanging down.

"Huh?" Byron asked, string at her. "Ally, look at that huge hole, and all this mess!"

Allison nodded. "It is a mess, and up on the second floor in places, you can see the hallway, but we can clean the mess up and repair the wall and the floor sections that collapsed," she replied.

Byron looked around him. There were bricks, pieces of aircraft and burnt wood all over. "We'll need some help," he said vacantly.

"We will, but we can do it!" Allison said firmly.

Seeing her confidence, Byron nodded. "We will. The garden shed is still intact, I'll get a wheelbarrow and start picking the smaller things up."

Cameron appeared and strode towards them. "Allison, I will inspect the structure. Clear off the pavilion platform and use that to put salvageable material on. Metals go over to this side, scrap wood in a pile out past the pavilion, concrete and broken brick over there beside the edge of the path to the driving range."

.

All day, Allison and Byron worked at picking up and sorting everything from bricks to aircraft engine pieces. After normal school hours, they received help. Yuka offered her assistance, then Gloria and her class arrived.

Allison was massed with happy hugs from her classmates seeing she wasn't at 'death's door', like some media were claiming. Gloria organized their cleanup efforts, and by the time Sarah called them all for dinner, there were decent sized piles in the designated debris areas, and the Pavilion platform had several stacks of lumber, brick, and furniture that was still intact. Gloria and her class left, but promised to return and help however they could.

While Allison wasn't affected by the manual labor she mostly used her mind hands to move, Byron was exhausted from a full day of work. He nodded off at the dinner table, nearly falling into his plate.

Allison kept nudging Byron to keep him awake. She was also concerned about the building. "Mom, what did you find inside?"

"Most of the structure has minor cracks, not enough to significantly weaken it. Some floor will have to be removed before the floors are rebuilt, as with the internal walls. The worst damage is in the residence areas, hence the large loss of life, but the school can be salvaged," Cameron explained.

John offered, "Allison, I talked with the relatives of the owners. The three people who owned Dietrich died, but their heirs made it through the war. Each one said they have no desire to claim this building, they have too many other things to worry about, so if you can rebuilt it, then it's yours."

"Mine?' Allison asked. "I don't want to own it, I just want to go to school here."

John shrugged. "Well, if you rebuild it, then you can go to school here. Right? You'll just be the one who is responsible for keeping it up."

Hearing the talk of rebuilding the school, Byron perked up some. "Yeah, Ally, you can do it. Just get someone good to run the school for you."

"Now would be the time," Cameron told her. "The government is providing reconstruction grants as well as declaring a tax holiday for all businesses to help with the rebuilding."

"I don't think anyone will bother with it if you don't," John prodded.

Allison though hard. She had loved this school and everyone who had been a part of it. "I'll do it. But, how do I do it?"

"Jerome is studying business," Byron said. "I'm sure he will help."

"It looks like it used to be a lovely school," Yuka said. "I will do whatever I can to help you."

"Mrs. Weaver is very good at running a business, we can ask her for assistance," Cameron added. "And since you are recovered now, Allison, you can return to school. I am sure Gloria would be more than happy to help you."

"Dad? Can you tell those heirs I will rebuild Dietrich?" Allison asked.

"I sure will," John told her with a smile.

.

As soon as the new owners of Dietrich heard that war hero Allison Connor was going to take responsibility and rebuild Dietrich Academy, they ignored the offer they got from a developer and signed the school and it's grounds over to her. Since Allison was under age, John took time out from his day to go to the town hall to meet with lawyers and sign for Allison and hold the property 'in trust' for her until she became 18.

Allison Connor was now officially the proud owner of her own wrecked school for the gifted.

.

Allison's first day back at school was nothing like she imagined it would be. She expected the decontamination stations, and all the air purifying equipment, as well as having what were outdoor areas now covered by large domes. What she didn't expect was a large board in the entryway showing the eastern half of the world with a red string-line going between push-pins on the maps, showing dates and placed she had been to. Every battle she'd been in was shown, and was referenced to a 'Allison number' for news clips on the Internet of her exploits.

On one corner of the map, someone had taken a picture of her face, and photoshopped it onto Supergirl's body with one fist raised up high. Above the photo a caption read 'Exploits of our very own Super Hero'.

"Wow," she said as she gazed at the six foot tall, ten foot wide tribute to her.

"Yeah, Ally, you are real popular," Bryon said from beside her.

Feeling a little self-conscious, Allison said, "We better get to class." Allison got to the hallway and was stopped by a boy's yell.

"Hey everyone, She's HERE!"

"OH My God, it's HER!" a young girl cried.

Instead a flow to the classrooms, students and teachers all flowed over to Allison. She spent the next hour greeting people she had no idea who they were, and carefully inching her way through the mob to get to her classroom.

.

Class, thankfully, was normal. Byron went and got their lunches so Allison didn't have to meet and greet a mass of well wishers and worshipers to go have lunch. They did have a 'belated' Ninth Birthday party for Allison and acceptance party into Stanford for Jerome. Just turned 16, he was their youngest student as well as the highest scoring on the entrance exams.

During afternoon class, a school wide announcement was made over the loudspeakers. "Attention everyone. As most of you have probably heard, the girl who had been recognized as a Hero of Humanity, and the world's first real Super Hero, Allison Connor, has returned to attend classes in our school. We have all been following Allison's path of destruction through Sky Net held territory right up to the news that she personally destroyed Sky Net. We are all very excited and happy she has returned safe after such a long and brutal journey. I must ask each of you to give Allison some space and not crowd around her in welcoming her home.

I would also like to announce a welcome home ceremony Friday afternoon in the auditorium. See Mrs. Winslow for organizing tributes for Allison, the girl who save us all."

Allison rubbed her forehead. "They are making way too much of this," she grumbled.

Becky smacked her lightly on the shoulder. "Face it, Allison, you are a hero. Everyone is very proud of you. They just want a chance to show you how proud they are of you."

"Yeah," Byron agreed heartily. "You're even rebuilding our school for us!"

"I've got help," Allison said in a sigh.

"The point is, you are doing it," Gloria told her. "Just like your father and mother, you inspire people to do more, and accomplish great things through your actions. That is something to be proud of, dear."

She then said, "And we do need to get some work done today, so everyone back to your studies."

.

At the end of the school day, Allison braced herself for leaving the classroom. Seeing she was nervous, Byron and the rest of her classmates formed a ring around her to push through the crowds that were sure to be waiting for her.

Then came a knock on the classroom door. Gloria opened it to find a TV reporter with her cameraman.

"Excuse me," the woman said pleasantly. "I was told this is Allison Connor's classroom?"

Byron and Becky helped Allison slip out the window.

.

Fame was not getting along with Allison, or rather she with it. Whenever she left the 'construction area' around Dietrich, cameras followed her from people on the ground to small drones that were ever present even when they were working at the school. By the time Friday came, every news group had passes for the assembly to honor her. She was also aghast to find out the Principal had asked her to give a speech.

Sitting at the dinner table with her family, Allison was pleased to see her Mother had a whole face again. "You look good Mom, are you healed up?"

Cameron cast Allison a grin. "Almost. I still have some patches that need to finish healing, but nothing major."

"I heard you are doing well in school, Yuka," John said.

"Hai! ... I mean, yes," Yuka said, correcting herself. "There are still some things I have yet to understand. I am doing my best."

"We are very proud of you, Yuka. Such a sudden culture shift must be hard, and you are adjusting well," Sarah told her.

"I have good help," Yuka said with a blush.

"I heard someone has to give a speech Friday?" John asked as he looked at Allison.

"Yes," Allison grumbled. "Dad, everyone is making ... way to much of this! I mean, I only did what I HAD to do, the same as everyone else. What else am I suppose to say? Mom was pretty torn up, and was right there with me all the way. Is SHE getting any recognition? Dad, you made everything possible and did your best, is anyone holding you up on a pedestal? And what about John Henry, or any of the ... thousands of brave men and women who died so easily, but kept going out to fight even when they knew what was going to happen to them?"

John let Allison rant then calmly said, "Then talk about that, sweetie. Remind them of all those brave people you met. Of all those that suffered and died fighting Sky Net. Just so you know, I have been holding off the awards ceremonies for you, myself and your mother to give you time to recover. There are many people out there who want to show you their gratitude for bringing and end to the war."

Allison calmed down. "Thank you, Dad," she said sheepishly. "I just feel embarrassed that all the attention is on me."

"Don't be, sweetie. In time, it will blow over and we can get back to at least a semi-normal life," he assured her.

"I hope it's soon," Allison said with a half grin.

.

Working on her school with help from her Mother, Byron, and their classmates when the were able, they got the debris cleaned up outside and inside. All the while, Allison thought about what to say during the assembly at school. Friday morning, Allison was happy to tell Gloria she'd found all the old records in the crumpled filing cabinets, and put them in their old classroom.

During class, Allison finally finished all her tests to pass 5th grade. Gloria graded them in the early afternoon, and pronounced her graduated, then gave Allison her requirements for 6th grade.

The day seemed to fly along for Allison, and before she knew it, it was time to go to the auditorium. Her classmates flanking her, and Gloria in the lead, Allison almost made it in to go sit down. Outside the auditorium, the Principal and the Mayor of Palmdale, with a 'press representative' were there to escort her around to the backstage door.

"This is Mayor Gerber," the Principal said, introducing the tall man in his blue suit.

"Mayor," Allison said as she shook his hand.

"May I say it is an extreme pleasure to meet you, Miss Connor."

"I had always thought you' would be older," the press man said. "By the way, I'm Jack," he said as he extending his hand.

"Hi Jack," Allison said, shaking his hand. On a silly thought, she was tempted to ask him of he stole cars.

"Right this way, Mayor," the principal said, motioning the way. "Allison, the Mayor and I have some awards of recognition for you. After we give out the awards, we would like you to say a few words to the audience. Do you have anything specific you'd like to say?"

"Yes, Sir, I do," Allison said with a nod.

"Very good! Have you ever spoken before an audience before?" The Principal asked.

"No, but I will do my best," Allison assured him.

"I'm sure you will. If it helps, look into the stage lights and pretend you are only speaking to us," he advised.

"Thank you for the help, Sir."

.

Allison was seated on stage beside the Mayor. Besides the students, the front row was all reporters and cameramen. In the back a few large TV cameras were manned. She did fell a little overwhelmed at all this attention.

As if anyone didn't already know, The Principal went down Allison's list of achievements, then called the Mayor up to add a few more. By the time they were done, one would swear she had stood alone against Sky Net and won the war all by herself. She was called up to received awards to recognize her defense of Palmdale, taking out the Sky Net forces that had attacked, another for defending the students at Dietrich and destroying the Sky Net forces in the area where the students and faculty were hiding in the woods. Allison thanked him for each plaque she received. Then, he moved aside and motioned for her to stand in front of the microphone.

Allison didn't look at the lights, but lifted her head and braced herself to speak. "I did what I had to do. I thank you all for the kinds words you have given me. It is nice to know what I did is appreciated. I would also ask you to remember everyone else who has done their best fighting Sky Net. My Dad, John Connor, who stepped up to lead us all when it seemed like all was lost. General Basturo in Nicaragua, who although seriously wounded, continued to lead his forces in their fight for survival. John Henry who made sure our armies had the best intelligence and captured control over Sky Net's own forces to use against it. My own Mother, Cameron Connor for doing everything possible to defeat Sky Net. Every soldier in the field who bravely fought with all they had with inferior weapons against terrible machines that did not need sleep, feel pain, nor ever stopped coming. Many of those soldiers died or suffered horrible wounds."

Tears coming to her eyes as she talked, Allison sniffled and kept going. "None of these people had the ability to stop the bullets and shells coming at them. Not one could fly away if it became too dangerous. Still, they stood their ground and fought. To me, that makes all of them the true Heros."

Pausing again, Allison sniffed and said, "People like the woman who helped me wash up in a river in Nicaragua. I didn't even get to know who she was before we battled Sky Net again and she lost her life." Her voice breaking, Allison said, "When everyone else was nervous of me, she showed be great kindness, then great courage. The Italian Sargent and his men having only hand held weapons when we faced those large Sky Net tanks. There was nothing they could do, but they stayed ... and died," she said, choking out her last words.

Taking a long pause to catch her breath and not break down crying in front of everyone, Allison begged, "Please, let us not ever forget any of those brave people who fought with everything they had."

Allison then went over and sat before she fell down. Clapping sounded and became louder, then the audience rose to stand in their applause.

The Principal got up and thanked everyone for coming. He escorted Allison off stage as the standing ovation kept going. Allison hoped she'd never have to do anything like that ever again.

.

Getting home, Allison got back to work on the Dietrich building. A truckload of rebar had been delivered. A chunky man with a hardhat on by the name of Mr. Ryan explained to Allison and Cameron how to 'tie it in' to the rebar poking out from the edges of the existing floors so it would be sturdy enough to pour concrete later. Byron and Yuka dragged the long metal rods to Cameron, who handed them to Allison floating in the air just below the second floor hole. Allison tied the bars together in place with the wire Mr. Ryan had given her to form the latticework while Mr. Ryan supervised to be sure her work was 'up to code'.

By dinner time, Allison had the skeleton of the new floor finished. Next would be making the forms so the concrete could be poured. In her efforts, Allison learned many new terms, one of which was 'in the dry', meaning the first priority was to finish the outside structure and make it weatherproof. Once the second floor and support columns were was completed, they could begin working on the back wall.

That night after dinner was a usual night as of late. Allison took her turn for the bath, then went to bed, finding Byron already flopped down still in his clothes and snoring. His pajamas lay across his lap.

Allison smiled at him and sat down beside him. "Byron ... Byron?" she asked as she gently shook his shoulder.

"Huh? What?" Byron asked groggily as he woke up.

"Just go in and take a quick shower," Allison coaxed. She didn't want him falling asleep in the bath.

"Ahh, yeah OK," Byron said and groaned his way to his feet. He stumbled out of the bedroom half asleep, whacking his shoulder on the door casing on the way out.

A minute later there was a female screech followed by Byron's, "Ahhh! Yuka, I'm sorry!" followed by the slam of a door.

"Byron! What are you doing?" Sarah's sharp voiced asked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in there!" Byron cried.

"Knock first," Sarah said firmly.

"I will, I will! Yuka ... komenesai, I didn't mean to do that," Byron called.

Allison chuckled at his mistake, She as sure he was wide awake now. She climbed into bed and waited for Byron to get in the bathroom, get his shower and come back. She covered herself up to her chin.

Byron came back in in his pajamas, looking wide awake and a bit scared.

"So is Yuka pretty?" she asked with a twisted grin.

Byron stared at her and blushed. "I didn't mean to do that," he offered weakly.

"OH, Byron, could you get my pajama top ... over there," she said and threw the covers down as she pointed.

Byron spun away from her so fast he tripped to sit on the bed. "Ahh, where?" he asked.

Allison laughed. "Fooled you," she said with a giggle. "I'm wearing it. I just wanted to see if you'd look," she said with a giggle.

Byron turned to eye her and said, "That wasn't funny."

"Yes it was. Come on, get in bed, it's been a long day," Allison replied and pulled the covers back for him.

They lay awake, Byron staring at the ceiling. Seeing he was upset, Allison put her head on his shoulder.

"Everyone knows it was a mistake. Relax, OK?" she said.

"OK. Night, Ally."

"Night, Byron."

Allison was still drifting off when she heard Byron snore. She didn't mind the noise, it assured her he was beside her and safe.

.

Saturday morning right after breakfast, Allison went out to keep working. Byron had tried to get up, then flopped back down with a pained sounding grunt. He was sore, so Allison had rub his sore shoulders and back, then slipped out after he went back to sleep.

Mr. Ryan arrived with a truckload of lumber. Today, he showed Allison how to build forms. First he had her bend rebar rods into square shapes and tie them to straight rods for the columns. There were only three that needed to be made, she had them done before lunch and the first part of one wooden 'form' in place.

Cameron came out to see how Allison was doing and brought her a lunch. Byron also came limping out and apologized for not getting up earlier.

"Don't worry abut it, I saw how sore you were," Allison told him as the sat down for lunch.

Cameron eyed the work and said, "It looks almost ready to pour concrete."

"By the pace Allison is going, I'm sure it will be ready by the end of tomorrow," Mr. Ryan said. "I'll call for the truck to deliver. There's a ton of construction projects going on, so you may have to wait a few days before they get to you."

"We'll have to stop until they get here?" Allison asked.

Mr. Ryan shrugged and said, "Those columns have to be up to support the floor and provide framing for the wall. After you get the forms for the columns done, we can start on the floor forms if you want."

"Then we'll do that," Allison said firmly.

"Be sure to let me know the cost," Cameron told Mr. Ryan.

"OH, I will, Mrs. Connor." Mr Ryan said with a smirk. "There is one thing you can be glad of. By doing all this work by yourselves, you have already saved yourselves at least a hundred fifty thousand. By how hard Allison here is working, I'm sure you will come in way below the million and a half estimate that it would normally take for a project this big."

"That much?" Allison asked.

"Why sure! The floors and the outside walls, the roof, those are big bucks. Even after those are done, you still have all the windows, top floor coverings, inside walls, plumbing and electrical to do. Not to mention furnishings, wall coverings and final floor finishings," Mr Ryan explained. "Then of course the general contractor and building inspector will want to get paid for his work," he added with a raised eyebrow.

"We have the cost covered," Cameron said. "Go ahead and give Allison whatever she needs or asks for."

"You must have a generous sponsor," Mr Ryan said. "May I ask who the owner is now?"

"My husband is owner-in-trust until Allison turn 18," Cameron told him.

Mr. Ryan raised both eyebrows this time. "Really? Well then, Mrs. Connor, Miss Connor, allow me to offer my services any time you need something done."

Allison knew the older kids in her class were all picking they majors and what field they wanted to work in. Becky was officially graduate from High School, yet she stayed to do more electives as she tried to puzzle out her future life. Allison had already chosen her life, right here with this school and her closest friend Byron by her side. She would finish school here, then got to college and become a school administrator to do the very best she could for the students, Just as the everyone here had done their best for her.

And may God help the poor fool who came here looking for trouble.

**THE END**

PS. Thank you everyone for your support. In case you haven't guessed, yes eventually Byron will marry his 'Christmas Tree' pretty girl.


End file.
